Became The Summer
by SapphireEJ
Summary: Their history started at summer camp when she's 10 and he's 11. From different parts of Ohio, they become best friends, but when their non-camp lives collide when he's 17 and she's 16, will his bad-boy ways destroy the best relationship he's ever had?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot and ideas.

A/N1: This is my fic for my winning bidder, (miladybronwyn), at the April 2010 Support Stacie Author Auction... I hope you like, girl!

A/N2: Thank you so much to my beta, Heather! (Bookgurrrl)

A/N3: Fic title came from the lyrics of 'Sweet Caroline' originally done by Neil Diamond, but also sung by the amazing Mark Salling. :D

A/N4: This is a different format then I've ever done; it's split into 'History' and 'Present Day' of our two favorite characters. I hope you all like it! It's kind of inspired by the set-up of 'Down To You', a movie from 2000 with Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Julia Stiles. It's great; I recommend it (it's on YouTube).

A/N5: I started this on April 19th and finished it April 27th; it's complete with 4 parts.

A/N6: Don't freak out... trust me; I won't let you down!

...

_History (noun): "_**_..._****_2 a_****_:_**_ a chronological record of significant events ... often including an explanation of their causes..._**_4 a_****_:_**_ events that form the subject matter of a history _**_b_****_:_**_ events of the past..."_ ( http : // www . merriam - webster . com/dictionary/history )

...

**~Present Day: Noah~**

**Late-May 2019**

Noah Puckerman had grown up a lot in the past years. The mohawk he wore in high school had been gone for a while, now his hair covered his entire head and he kept it short, just a few inches long. His grubby, distressed jeans, band t-shirts and Letterman's jacket had been replaced by clean, loose fitting jeans that still looked professional or slacks, polo shirts and sometimes a dress shirt and tie, with sweaters or sweatshirt jackets that didn't name his high school football team; well not all the time; his fashion sense had gone more professional, but on his downtime, he seemed to easily slip into his old ways.

He looked like a typical 20-something guy as he drove around on the streets of Lima, Ohio, but this time, it felt better than it had when he was a teen. He hadn't lived in Lima for a while, but the familiar shops and streets made him feel at home, unlike where he'd been living.

His travels drove him past Temple Beth Israel - Shaare Zedek and he smiled, "thank you," he said out loud to the empty car as he continued on his way, his mind drifting back to how he'd gotten where he was.

...

**~History~**

Ten year old Noah Puckerman along with his mom and six year old sister drove from Lima, Ohio to Haverford, Pennsylvania where they would spend seven weeks of the summer at a Jewish Summer Camp. His temple back home in Lima asked the adults if any of them would be interested in being a counselor and his mom had volunteered.

The nine hour drive brought them to Haverford College campus where the Julian Krinsky Yesh Shabbat summer camp was held every year, and while his sister was too young to attend the camp programs, his mom was not the only parent there, so there was a 'baby sitting' program for them, giving the younger children a chance to experience a lot of the same things the older kids did.

As his mom got into her duties as a counselor, he settled into his dorm and as the week first week ended, the other boys in his group slowly showed up when camp officially started, he quickly fell into friendships with other boys and girls in the 'middle school' group he was in; kids ten to thirteen.

The middle school sessions were only two weeks long, but within those weeks, he had plenty of time to hang out with his new friends. Just like with any summer camp, it was a chance for the kids to not only meet new friends, but also time to learn something new, or explore they were interested in, all the while being around others who shared their religion and for Noah, that was a big deal because there were not a lot of kids in Lima, Ohio who were Jewish; for once, he didn't feel weird to have a different religion than most kids he knew, and the camp added in prayer time throughout the day, giving them all a chance to share in their faith.

Noah spent a lot of time playing basketball, but also took the guitar class; he knew how to play, but it was fun to work with others who were in varying states of learning, and he also tried his hand at cooking, which he found he enjoyed, even if he probably would never admit it to his buddies back home.

He met a lot of kids that summer; he was there for three different two week sessions, met a lot of kids and none of them were from Ohio, but most of them were returning the next year, so when he and his family returned to Lima, he looked forward to going back next summer.

...

**~History~**

A year passed, and just after his 11th birthday in May, Noah's mom, Deborah, got the confirmation that he and his family would be returning to camp. He and his sister both had birthdays in mid-May, so when he finished fourth grade, they packed up and went back to Pennsylvania.

Settling into the same routine the year before, Noah looked forward to catching up with some of the guys he'd met the last summer, but on the first day of the new session, during breakfast, he sat next to a new girl. She was dressed in a skirt and a t-shirt, with her brown hair pulled back in a pony tail and he had a feeling he should talk to her, "hi, I'm Noah," he said glancing at her.

She turned to look at him, "hello, I'm Rachel," she replied holding out her hand to him.

He shook her hand, "nice to meet you. Is this your first year here?"

"Yes, it is. I just turned ten," she explained.

"Oh, that's cool. It's my second year here; I just turned eleven," he told her. "So where are you from?"

"Cleveland, Ohio, you?"

As she said that, he almost choked on his orange juice, "no way! I'm from Lima, Ohio. You're the first person I've met here that is from Ohio."

"Really? I've never heard of Lima before," she admitted.

"It's like three hours from there and it's a pretty small town," he commented.

"Oh, I see. So what do you do in Lima?" She asked.

He shrugged, "not much. I play football and basketball with friends. I also play the guitar," he added.

"Guitar? Really?" She smiled, a light twinkle in her eye, "you should play for me! I love music. I want to be a Broadway star someday and sing and dance," she explained.

"What's Broadway?" He asked curiously.

Her eyes widened, "you don't know? You've never heard of Broadway?" While he was shaking his head, she started to explain excitedly, "it's a very well known street in New York City where a lot of theaters are that have famous musicals play at them."

"So like movies with music?"

"No," she shook her head, "musicals. Dramatic plays with music in them. Where actors and actresses are on stage and sing and dance," she smiled. "I take a lot of dance classes at home."

Finishing off his breakfast, he glanced at her, "so you're probably taking that drama class and the dance class, here, huh?" He asked.

"Yes, both, and I'm also taking cooking at ten-thirty," she said.

"Really? Me too," he smiled. "I'm also taking guitar in the morning, then I haven't picked what I'm doing this afternoon," he admitted.

She eyed him for a moment, "I need a boy partner for ballroom dancing," she said.

He laughed, "I don't dance."

"How do you know? Have you ever tried? It could be fun. This week it's ballroom dancing, next week it's hip-hop dancing, then after that I don't know."

"I thought the middle school program is only two weeks," he said.

"It is, but I'm staying for the whole six weeks," she smiled, "I wanted to come, so my daddies let me."

"Daddies?"

"Yes, I have two dads."

"Two more than I have," he admitted.

"You must have a father," she said.

"He left my mom when my sister was born," he motioned across the room to where his mom and sister were sitting.

"Deborah is your mom?" She asked.

"Yep. I'm here all summer too," he added.

"I look forward to getting to know you, then. You never answered, either."

"Oh, um," he eyed her for a moment, "_well, it wouldn't hurt... she is from Ohio,_" he thought, "fine, but if I don't like it, I'm quitting."

Rachel grinned, "great! I'll see you in cooking class, then," she stood up.

"yeah, later," he waved at her as she walked off with two other girls.

Noah found he liked the dancing classes with Rachel and he seemed to do pretty well at it. As two weeks turned into four, and four into six, they got to be good friends and learned a lot about each other and at the end of camp, they exchanged addresses, promising to write a few times over the year and agreed they'd see each other the next summer.

_**History comes from someplace and that summer, Noah and Rachel started their history.**_

...

**~Present Day: Rachel~**

**Late-May 2019**

Graduating in 2012, Rachel changed her mind during the last few years of high school and chose to go to Ohio State University in Columbus, instead of New York, like she had planned. Being an Ohio resident, she found that out-of-state tuition was a lot more than her dads could afford, even if they had been saving up, and she was offered a full ride to OSU so she took it, figuring after she graduated, she could go off to NYC and continue her plan for stardom.

Just after turning 23, in June 2016, Rachel graduated from OSU with double majors in music education and music performance in voice and she already had a part lined up in New York; after graduation, she had two weeks to move to the Big Apple and get settled before rehearsals began.

It's now three years later, late-May 2019; and seven years after she graduated high school and she's packing up her apartment in New York City and moving again; this time for a completely different reason.

...

**~History~**

Eleven-year-old Noah and ten-year-old Rachel exchanged a few letters in the year they were apart and when they returned to camp the next summer, Noah now twelve and Rachel eleven, they picked up where they left off the previous summer.

Their friendship easily grew; they continued taking the dance classes together and while Noah focused on guitar and she on drama, they still also shared cooking together and they enjoyed the whole summer there.

Deborah, Noah's mom, was noticing her son spending a lot of time with Rachel, which she did not mind at all. He was himself for six to seven weeks over the summer and she would take all she could get; worried for what would come as he hit middle school.

The summer ended, and Noah and Rachel parted, again promising to write, but this time, they exchanged email addresses; easier to deal with and it had instant delivery.

As Noah started sixth grade at Lima Middle School, he got his friends to start calling him Puck, and he and his best friend Finn joined the junior varsity football team, and then they began playing basketball after football season was over.

Over the year, Noah sprouted, as most boys do; his voice began to deepen, he started growing muscles and by the time he hit thirteen, he was well on his way to physically growing up, but his attitude needed some work.

He never ignored Rachel's emails, to Noah, they were a break from his life. His sister annoyed him, his mom 'bitched' at him 'all the time' and his friends never seemed to understand him, but because of his growing strength, most of the kids at school 'feared' him, so it was nice to be Noah with Rachel; even if she didn't know who Puck was yet. At the beginning one or two emails a week slowly turned into three or four, and by the time they returned to camp just after he turned thirteen and she was twelve, it was as if they never parted and they fell back to their same routines, and to Deborah's relief, Noah came back; even if it was only for the short time they were at camp over the summer.

"This sucks," thirteen-year-old Noah muttered as he and Rachel sat on a bench the day before she was leaving to go back home to Cleveland.

"Noah, we part every summer, but we'll be back next year," she reminded him, "and we do email quite frequently."

"I know, but next year I'll be in the high school program and you'll still be in the middle school one," he replied looking at her.

"Oh, yes, there is that," she looked out over the pond they were near, "well, your mom will still be my counselor next year, so I'm sure we'll still be able to see each other; maybe not as often as we did before, but during meals and breaks."

He glanced at her, "I know this is going to sound maybe a little weird, but you're one of my best friends and it's going to suck. I've had fun the last few summers."

Twelve year old Rachel's eyes widened as she took in what he told her, "you have... you've become one of my best friends, too, Noah, and it will only be for one summer; then we can go back to how it was the summer after next," she replied, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it.

"That's two years away," he muttered, but continued to hold her hand.

"We can make it. We still have our emails," she smiled.

...

**~History~**

The day they got home from camp, Noah went back to being Puck and with the help of Finn, they shaved his head, leaving a single strip down the middle, giving him a mohawk, that all the guys on the football team thought was badass, but his mom hated it, to which he told her "it's my head."

Noah and Finn made it onto the varsity football team, and then the varsity basketball team, so they were both working out a lot, which helped him bulk up and soon everyone at school was 'fearing' badass Puck.

He talked to Rachel about music and dancing, summer camp, Judaism, school, friends, what they had been doing... He complained about his mom always on his case to do chores and how his sister was annoying him because she was excited that she was officially starting at camp the following summer. Rachel admitted she was giving up some of her lessons; staying with voice, but giving up piano and all but one of her dance classes because school was getting tougher and she was afraid her grades would start to go down of she didn't take more time to study. He'd grown used to her major concern for her educations, and while he knew that he wanted to graduate from high school, he could care less about his grades, as long as they stayed good enough for him to be able to play sports.

...

**~Present Day: Noah~**

**Late-May 2019**

Pulling into the parking lot of his former high school, Noah parked his car and looked around, "_hasn't changed a bit,_" he thought as he grabbed his portfolio from the passenger's seat and double checked that he had what he needed before sliding out of the car shutting the door and locking it. Adjusting his tie he wore, he took a deep breath and moved towards the front of the school. "_Never thought I'd see the day I'd be coming back here, especially dressed like this,_" but he knew it was necessary to dress professionally for a job interview.

Yes, Noah Puckerman, formally Puck, the 'badass' of William McKinley High School, after being away for eight years, was now returning to try and get a job as a... teacher.

Stepping into the familiar doors, he took the direction he knew well, and pulled open the office door and went inside, catching the attention of the secretary there. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Yes, I have an interview with the principal at noon," he said.

"Okay, name?"

"Noah Puckerman," he replied.

"Take a seat and I'll go tell him you're here," she said standing up and disappearing.

"_I wonder if Figgins will remember me. I hope he doesn't; that might screw up the interview royally if he does. Well, at least for the first few years I was a jerk; got better, though,_" he thought, and for the second time that day his thoughts brought him back summer camp.

...

**~History~**

Having finished seventh grade, Noah had just turned fourteen and was back at camp in Pennsylvania. His sister was starting in the middle school group, and he was moving on to the high school group. He'd let his hair grow out a little, so he went and got his hair cut, removing the evidence of a mohawk, so at least he didn't stand out too much at camp, which is mom was thankful for.

He, his sister and mom had been there for two days already and he had settled into his dorm room easily, but was dying to see Rachel. He knew when she'd be arriving, so he headed down to the drop-off area and saw her bus pulling up when he got there. Watching several kids pile off, their hands full of luggage of all shapes, sizes and colors, he saw her step off, dressed like she always did, a plaid skirt, blouse and her hair pulled up in a pony tail, with a pair of sun glasses over her eyes.

"Rachel!" He called out jogging towards her.

Her eyes widened, "Noah!" She smiled as she saw him, barely recognizing him with shorter hair than she remembered and had grown taller and more muscular since she'd seen him last.

As he reached her he wrapped her up in a big hug and swung her around, "how was your flight?" He asked.

"It was alright, thank you for asking. How was the drive?" She replied, handing over one of her bags when he reached for it.

He rolled his eyes, "nine hours cooped up in a car with my mom and my sister," he muttered, "I tried to sleep, but my sister kept asking us questions about camp and you."

"Me?"

"Because she looks up to you already and you'll be in the same group," he added with a laugh, "so have fun with that."

"Noah, you're sister is a great girl. She is quite talented. Even if she wasn't in the camp officially last year, she sure knows how to play the piano," she said looking at him.

"I know," he shrugged, "mom got my grandma's piano when she died and even if it's old, it still works. She loves the piano, while I'd much rather play the guitar, but I do know how to play; or at least the basics," he explained.

The two walked towards the check-in area and Rachel got her room assignment so they made their way in the direction of the dorms, "so, taking the same classes this year?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't have a dance partner for ballroom dancing, so probably not," she admitted. "And camp is about exploring things we might not have always been interested in. I was thinking about trying tennis," she explained.

"Tennis?" He looked at her, "yeah I could see it," he smirked.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" She asked pausing to stare at him.

He laughed, "haven't you ever watched the tennis matches on TV? They're always in skirts like that and polo shirts," he motioned to what she was wearing, "which is almost exactly what you're wearing now."

"What is wrong with what I'm wearing now?" She took a deep breath and stormed off as if she was pissed.

Noah stared at her for a moment before he chased after her, "Rachel! What's wrong? What did I say?" He rested a hand on her shoulder and she finally stopped. "Rach, what's up?"

She sighed, "the kids back home at school tease me about my clothing choices," she muttered, "so talking about my clothing is a touchy subject with me."

"Tease you? Who? Do I need to come up there and kick some ass?" He asked seriously, slipping his arm around her shoulders.

"You don't need to use that language, Noah," she muttered, "and no, you don't need to come up and cause harm to anyone, I try to ignore it. I'm used to it there, not here, so when you said that..."

"Yeah, but still, no one needs to be doing that to you, no one teases My Rach, except me," he said looking down at her, "I'm sorry. I didn't know or I wouldn't have said anything if I had," he told her, "and you sounded like my mom just a moment ago about my cussing," he added.

"Well you shouldn't need to use profanities to express anger," she told him.

"Yep, it's summer alright. A girl a year younger than me is talking to me with big words," he smirked.

Rachel nudged him away with a laugh, "Noah, there is nothing wrong with having a large vocabulary."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he laughed, and quickly they were right back to where they had been a year earlier.

...

**~History~**

Time dragged on for Noah and Rachel because they hardly saw each other. Most of the time it was during daily prayers or meal times they'd see each other; she'd be sitting with her friends, he with his, but they made it a point to go over to the other and say hi.

About a week into being there, Noah walked over to the table with all the girls sitting at it and stole the seat next to Rachel, "hey Rach," he smiled at her.

"Hello, Noah. Not sitting with your friends today?" She asked curiously.

"You're not my friend?" He replied back with a grin, "cause if I'm not I guess I could go over and sit with them."

She giggled, "no, that's not what I mean and you know it. Stay, we've hardly seen each other all week," she replied.

"I know," he commented. "Is it next summer yet?"

"I'm afraid not," she said.

...

**~History~**

Noah and Rachel said goodbye again at the end of the summer, but both promised emails and they kept their word.

The mohawk returned before he started eight grade and while he kept up Puck's 'image', inside, Noah was thinking of Rachel and making mental notes of all the things he wanted to talk to her about in their emails.

Some of his buddies, Finn included, got girlfriends that year and he just rolled his eyes at that. He dealt with his sister and mom enough, he didn't need another female to deal with.

Sometime just before Spring Break, one of the guys he'd known since sixth grade found out he was Jewish and made a very mean comment to him and Puck responded by punching the guy in the face, giving him a black eye and split lip. The kid fought back and repaid him with his own black eye and split lip and soon both were in the office waiting for their parents to arrive.

"What in the world possessed you to punch someone?" Deborah exclaimed to her son, who was now sitting in the office with the other boy and his mom.

Noah removed the ice pack from his eye and glared at Dave Karofsky, "he told me, and I quote, '_Hitler didn't do a good enough job if there were still Jews around,' _" he responded.

Deborah's eyes widened and she glared at them, "how dare you say something like that!"

"Mr. Karofsky, comments like that are unacceptable. Why would you say such a thing?" The principal snapped.

Dave Karofsky shrugged his shoulders, "it sounded good at the time."

Deborah was fuming and glaring at the kid, and the principal noticed this, "um, Mrs. Puckerman, could you please explain," the principal requested.

"We're Jewish," she retorted.

Since Karofsky didn't deny saying that, even if he said he was 'just joking around', and everyone in the room, including his mom agreed that it was not something to joke about, the principal understood Noah's need to stand up for his faith, but still, violence of any kind was not tolerated at school, so both boys were suspended for three days.

"How did it feel?" Deborah asked once they were home.

"It hurt," he admitted, curious about what she was getting at.

"Of course it would to punch someone; how did it feel to stand up for your faith?" She looked at him.

His mouth fell open in shock, "damn good," he replied.

"Good," she smiled, but then her smile turned to something else, "I do not like violence, but I understand why you hit him in the first place. I don't like the idea of you missing school for three days because you stood up for your faith, but I agree some sort of punishment was necessary for fighting at school."

He stared at her, "what? I'm not grounded?"

"No," she shook her head, "but where's My Noah?" She asked softly stepping towards him, "you've turned into a kid I hardly know. You never used to be violent. This haircut is atrocious, you're cussing all the time now, you're constantly fighting with your sister. What happened? What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Noah sighed, "Mom, I just... I need to be myself. I like the mohawk and Arin and I fight all the time because we're siblings and we're going to. I love her, but she drives he crazy."

"This isn't you, Noah, and you know it. This is the guy that everyone at school sees. Just because you grew up and have muscles and are strong, doesn't mean you can go around scaring kids. You don't do that at camp over the summer when you're around Rachel; you're civil to your sister and me..."

"Because there I can be myself; there I don't have to hide my religion or that I like playing the guitar and cooking. Rachel and I are friends because we share interests and religion, but If the guys at school knew that, they'd beat the shit out of me," he responded. "I'm going to my room," he added, leaving the subject alone and disappearing upstairs without letting her respond.

"_Oh I get it now,_" Deborah thought. "_It's Rachel, even if he doesn't see it yet._"

...

**~Present Day: Rachel~**

**Late-May 2019**

For having a three bedroom apartment in Manhattan, Rachel didn't expect to have as much stuff packed away, but considering that the entire third bedroom was piled with seven years of belongings; stuff from Ohio, stuff from the last three years of living in New York, along with it being cramped because of furniture and clothes and the important things, she knew she had her work cut out for her.

The move was not completely planned, but needed. It was time to get out of New York City. The apartment's lease was not up until October, so there was plenty of time to move; which worked out because she was taking from late-June to early-August off and spending it in Pennsylvania.

Her first musical role brought her three months of rehearsals and then nine months of shows, giving her a whole year of experience, which got her a shot at a true Broadway production. She'd been seen by a casting agent, who thought she was the perfect look for 'Sandy' in 'Grease', and auditioned along with three other actresses for the part, and she beat all of them out, and after four years of going through OSU and another year working in an off-Broadway production, she finally got her big break on Broadway and spent the last two years playing the lead in 'Grease'.

She ended up winning a Tony for her portrayal of 'Sandy' and stuck with it for a little bit longer, but even though the production would be around for a while, she knew, after two full years of working on it, it was time to move on with her life.

Looking for a few boxes specifically, she opened up one and was greeted by a white t-shirt with the logo of the summer camp on it that she had attended many years ago, "oh wow," she muttered, picking up the shirt and looking over the signatures that covered it. Reading names of camp friends she hadn't seen in many years; most since she was last at camp, she set the shirt aside, peaking into the box to find a photo frame with a picture of a lot younger Rachel Berry standing with a muscular boy, a head taller than her, next to a tree on the Haverford College campus. Smiling at the photo, she brushed her finger along the boy's face and sighed, "I miss you, Noah," she murmured before carefully laying the picture frame back in there carefully and put the shirt back inside and closed the box, getting back to what she had been doing.

...

**~History~**

At fifteen, Puck would never admit he was excited about anything, but Noah would; he was excited. He was back at camp, the mohawk was gone and he was waiting for Rachel again. He knew this summer would be better than the last because they'd be in the same group again and could take classes together.

Seeing her get off the bus, he didn't even call out her name, he just jogged over to her and wrapped her up in a tight hug, "hey Rach," he smiled as the pulled away.

She blushed, "hello Noah. It's so good to see you again," she admitted as she reached down and picked up one of her bags while he got her other one.

"You too, Rach, flight okay?"

"Yes, it was. Was your drive better than last year?" She asked.

"Actually, yes. After I..." he glanced around and once they were further away from the rest of the group he continued, "after I got in trouble at school I've been a little nicer with her and my sister, so it wasn't as bad."

"That's good," she smiled, "and I still don't understand why you have your friends at school call you Puck and not Noah. Puck is not your name."

"It's short for Puckerman," he stressed, "we've been through this before, Rachel. Noah is a Jewish name and not many know I am. Look what happened to the guy who found out; look at what he said? You think I want that to happen again? Hopefully next time I'll have a little more self control, but if anyone says something like that---"

Rachel rested a hand on his forearm, "calm down, Noah," she said softly.

He exhaled and nodded, "I'm sorry, but hearing him say that sucked."

She let her hand slip down his arm and took his hand, "well, we have six weeks to not worry about someone judging us for our religion," she said.

Noah looked down at their joined hands, "yeah, you're right. Six weeks to be ourselves," he murmured.

...

**~History~**

The teen friends were almost inseparable the entire six weeks they were there; the guys at camp assumed that Rachel and Noah were together and the girls all told Rachel she was lucky to be with him because he was 'hot'. Rachel thanked them, never correcting them on her and Noah's relationship status.

Over the summer Rachel began to have feelings for him; they'd been friends for years and though had gotten close, she didn't expect him to see her as anything more than a friend, so she pushed aside her feelings, and cherished the time they had together, because she knew that even if they did live in Ohio, they were three hours apart, so a long distance relationship would be very difficult.

The night before she was to leave from camp, she met him by the lake, a tradition they had had since her first summer there and was was sitting on the bench, "hey," he smiled, standing up to hug her.

She returned his hug, "hello, Noah," she replied taking a seat on the bench.

"Are you packed yet?" He asked retaking his seat and looking at her.

She nodded, "yes, I finished before I came to meet you."

"Cool," he replied, "so, um... School's gonna be weird this year," he told her.

"Why is that?" She asked curiously.

"I'll be a Freshman; the youngest at school. I've been used to being the oldest and the biggest, now I'll be the low man on the totem pole," he whispered.

"Look at all the boys in our group this summer, Noah. You're taller than most of them and bigger, and not in a bad way, you're very toned," she explained.

He smirked, glancing towards her, "now you say something."

"I always did notice; I didn't think you needed me to tell you how handsome you are," she replied, mentally wishing they could change the subject. "Are you nervous?" She asked softly.

"Yes," he nodded looking at her, "just don't tell anyone. I have a rep to protect."

"Noah, I would not tell anyone anything, but don't use the excuse that you have a reputation to protect. You hide behind this other name just so you don't have to show anyone your feelings; do not do that to me. I am not some school friend," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and staring out to the lake. "Be honest with me," she added.

He took a deep breath, "you want honesty?"

"Yes, Noah, I want you to be honest with me," she said again.

"I want to kiss you," he told her simply.

She coughed, "excuse me?"

"I want to kiss you," he repeated looking at her, "I've never kissed a girl before and I don't think you've kissed a guy before, so why not?"

"Why not? You don't just kiss your best friend, Noah," she said softly, "it could make things awkward and I don't want to loose your friendship."

"You wouldn't, Rachel," he took her hand and squeezed it, "if we are best friends, then we should be able to kiss and share something special, and be able to go on just as we did before, right?"

She looked at their hands and then out to the lake, contemplating his logic. "If we're friends, then yes, we should be able to," she agreed turning to look at him, "but you have to promise me we won't be awkward," she murmured.

He reached around and rested his other hand on her cheek, "we won't be, Rachel, I promise," he replied.

"I would like my first kiss to be with someone who is important to me, and you are," she agreed.

He studied her for a moment before guiding her towards him with his hand against her cheek and pressed his lips to hers, his eyes falling closed as their lips touched.

Rachel felt something stir inside of her that she'd never felt before and it was gone as soon as their lips broke apart, her eyes opening to look at him, never wanting to forget that moment.

...

**~Present Day: Noah~**

**Late-May 2019**

"_I can't believe I started going here twelve years ago and it was just after I kissed Rachel at camp; has it really been that long ago?_" Noah thought staring out at the now busy halls. The principal's office was in a different location; closer to the front of the school, but he still had a good view out to the hall.

"Mr. Puckerman? The principal is ready to see you now," the secretary said.

He shook from his thoughts and stood up, "thank you," he replied.

She guided him back to his office and motioned to the open door; stepping inside without even looking at the name plaque on the door, he froze mid step when he saw his former Spanish teacher standing behind the large wooden desk, "Mr. Schue?" He gasped in shock.

He held out his hand to his former student, "it's good to see you again, uh, is it Noah now or still Puck?"

Noah stepped forward and shook his hand, looking around confused, "it's Noah now. I'm just... you're principal? When did that happen?" He asked.

"Your mom never told you?"

"Uh, no. How did you... I mean... I thought you had to have like a masters to be a principal," he said.

"Have a seat, Noah," Will motioned to the empty chairs in front of his desk and once they both had sat down, he continued, "after I'd gotten divorced and you'd graduated, I had a lot of free time on my hands, so I went back to school at the Lima OSU campus and got my masters in education," he replied motioning towards several certificates displayed on the wall.

"Wow," he muttered, "I never expected this."

...

**~History~**

The mohawk had returned the first day back from summer camp and Finn, Puck and their two buddies, Matt Rutherford and Mike Chang from Lima Middle, all joined the football team at William McKinley and ended up being on the junior varsity team, but they didn't care; being on the football team was an accomplishment, so when they started their first day in high school, they were already well on their way to making it to the top of the very specific food chain; the jocks being on top.

Noah's popularity had grown quickly and he started getting the attention of a lot of the girls in school; Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors and he liked it. His friends were jealous of how quickly he got their attention and at the first party of the school year he went to, in mid-October, he bumped into a black haired Latina girl, dressed in their school's cheerleader uniform and recognized her as someone in his Spanish class; Santana Lopez.

The two started dating and it took a month for Santana to talk him into taking her virginity. He was shocked, thinking it was a bad idea because they were young, but he still bought a box of condoms and both of them lost their big-V and less than a week later, she broke up with him because she 'found someone else'. Her 'someone else' was a Junior and Noah realized she used him, so he chalked it up as a major mistake and moved on.

Noah and Rachel's emails continued and she'd known he had dated a girl, but it took him a long time to tell her that he'd slept with Santana. He hated telling her through an email, and while she was upset he kept it from her, she was glad he was at least honest with her.

He got his driving permit, so once basketball season had ended, his mom began to teach him to drive because he'd be turning sixteen in May and his goal was to get his license before her went to camp, which he ended up getting in early June just before school got out.

He went to an end-of-the-year party with his friends and hooked up with a Junior girl; glad that he'd brought protection, because he knew there was no way he'd have unprotected sex. She was the first to leave, thanking him for the fun and told him she'd see him next year. The entire time during and then after, as he stared at himself in the mirror of the foreign bathroom, all he could think about was Rachel and what she'd think of him.

Noah was able to keep his mom from finding out and just before they left for camp, she gave him a cell phone. She figured since he was now driving, he should have one and also knew that ninety-percent of the students at school had cell phones, so it was time for him to have one also and promised that when they got back from summer camp they'd try and figure out how they could get him a car of some sort.

The drive to camp was a lot more fun this time, because he was able to drive for a while; since he'd only had his license for a short time she didn't let him drive far, but it was good experience because it was mostly highway driving.

Arriving at camp, he felt like he belonged there, no matter what happened in school and after checking in and finding out what dorm he was in, he settled in and waited for the day Rachel would arrive.

Leaning against the building where the bus always dropped off the campers, he watched them step off, heading towards the check in area. He saw her get off, one of the last ones, dressed like always, but she had grown, she was still short, but was taller that before, her hair was longer, even if it was pulled back and she was looking around. Her eyes landed on him and he pushed himself off the wall as she walked towards him, "hello Noah, are you alright?" She asked curiously, surprised he hadn't met her like he had the last few years.

"Hey Rach," he responded, rubbing his neck nervously, "um, are we cool?" He blurted out.

She set her bags on the cement next to her, "of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?" She questioned, resting her hands on her hips.

"Because of what I did during school," he muttered, unable to make eye contact with her.

She took in his tense shoulders and narrowed her eyes in confusion, "Noah, I thought we went through this already. I don't like your choices in that matter, but I'm not going to stop being your friend because of it," she replied trying to catch his eyes.

His shoulders slumped and he wrapped his arms around her, "thank you," he murmured, "but I have to tell you something," he whispered.

She pulled away to look at him, "you did it again, didn't you?"

He nodded, "yeah, on the last day of school; it was a party and some Junior girl," he replied softly. "I'm sorry."

"I don't know why you're apologizing to me," she replied. "We've never been more than friends and you're confusing me," she admitted.

"Because I don't want you to think any less of me for it. You're my best friend and your opinion of me really matters," he replied.

She took a deep breath, her arms still around his waist, "Noah, we've been friends for a long time. As a personal choice I don't like the idea of sex with someone, without some sort of commitment, but I'm not going to think any less of you because you chose not to wait; you're still my Noah," she explained, "so stop beating yourself up about this and don't bring down our summer together because of this," she said, while inside her heart was aching; she was upset that he had sex before, but they had never made any steps to be more than friends, so she knew she had no right to hate him for his choices, while on the other hand, she was happy to hear that her opinion of him mattered.

"Alright," he smiled, "I won't bring down our summer."

"Good," she hugged him again before pulling away and picking up one of her bags.

Noah grabbed her other bag and quickly fell into step with her and it didn't take long for them to get back to the way they always were over the summer.

...

**~History~**

"So I realized something yesterday," Noah said as he and Rachel sat on the bench the night before she went home to Cleveland.

"What is that?"

"Next summer will be my last summer here," he replied. "I'll turn seventeen in May and that's the oldest you can be to come here," he whispered.

She gasped a little, that reality not something she'd thought of, "I didn't even think of that," she admitted.

"I didn't either until some of the guys that I got to be friends with told me goodbye for good. I mean sure I'll probably keep in touch with a few of them, but they're already seventeen so they won't be back and it kind of hit me that next summer will be it," he said wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

She leaned her head against him, "what are we going to do? I don't know if I'll want to come back if you're not here," she replied.

"We'll figure something out," he replied, "maybe I can go with you to New York and be your assistant or something," he laughed.

"Noah, you need to get an education after high school," she said looking up at him.

"Yeah, well, where's the money going to magically appear from?" He asked, "mom doesn't have it."

"Then you can get scholarships and grants. There are ways. I'll help you figure it out, Noah. You need to get an education," she was begging for him to agree with her.

Seeing how concerned she was, he nodded, "alright, but I'm not making any promises. We'll see what happens, okay?" He told her.

"That's better than saying 'no' so I'll take it," she smiled.

...

**~Present Day: Noah~**

**Late-May 2019**

His interview turned into a catch-up session with his former teacher, and now boss, and as he left the office, he wanted to make a stop, so he headed towards the nurses office and knocked. Hearing a woman say 'come in' he pushed the door open, "hey mom."

"Noah! What are you doing here?" She gasped, getting up from her desk and hugging him.

He smiled, "I just had an interview with the _principal_," he commented, "why didn't you tell me Will became principal?"

"I guess it never crossed my mind," she admitted, "so you're really moving back home? For sure?" She asked.

He nodded, "yes. What? Did you think I was just staying at home and telling you that I was getting a house to make you happy?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I didn't want to get my hopes up," she replied, having missed her son terribly since he'd been gone.

"I'm back, for good and I'll start teaching gym next year and coaching football and basketball, so you're stuck with me around," he replied.

"Welcome home, baby," she said hugging him again.

...

**~Present Day: Rachel~**

**Early-June 2019**

Since the lease on the apartment wasn't up until October, she didn't have to rush too much to move. Coming up towards the end of the month she would be driving to Pennsylvania and staying for seven to eight weeks; working at the camp she'd attended when she was younger. She'd had some contact with the director of the camp and in talking, he told her they'd lost their dance instructor for their classes, and she quickly offered to help out; within a few weeks, she was signed up as the dance instructor and a camp counselor.

"Okay Rachel, you've done all the packing you can do to move, so now you need to pack what you need to take to summer camp," she said out loud to the empty bedroom. "Summer camp?" She laughed, "but at least this time I'm going to be a counselor. It's going to be so fun! I can't wait," she moved around the room collecting clothes and necessities to pack as she stuffed her things into her duffel bags.

Camp held a lot of memories for her; a time she would never forget in her life and she wondered just what it would be like to be back there again, "_well, I guess I'll find out when I get there._"

...

**Real places:**

Temple Beth Israel - Shaare Zedek in Lima, Ohio

(http :// templebethisraelshaarezedek . org/)

Julian Krinsky Summer Camp, at Haverford College, Pennsylvania

( http :// jkjewishsummercamps . com/ )

...

A/N7: Part 1 complete... Love it? Hate it? Want more? Please let me know! Your comments and reviews are what keep me writing. I promise more soon. With the author auction, I needed to have the first part complete by the deadline, which I did, but since I'm so into writing this and want to finish it soon, I will and post it all in the next few weeks.

A/N8: In the next parts, I won't be focusing on every other Glee member, but you'll see the similarities to the first 8 episodes of Glee, but there won't be a Rachel/Finn flirtation; but, well, you'll see.

...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot and ideas.

A/N1: This is my fic for my winning bidder, (miladybronwyn), at the April 2010 Support Stacie Author Auction... I hope you like, girl!

A/N2: Thank you so much to my beta, Heather! (Bookgurrrl)

A/N3: Fic title came from the lyrics of 'Sweet Caroline' originally done by Neil Diamond, but also sung by the amazing Mark Salling. :D

A/N4: So for the last chapter; I accidentally deleted the note I had about how it was split up, so please take a look at the beginning of the first chapter again to re-read the author notes; it'll explain why and where I got the idea from, but here it is in case you didn't see it... This is a different format then I've ever done; it's split into 'History' and 'Present Day' of our two favorite characters. I hope you all like it! It's kind of inspired by the set-up of 'Down To You', a movie from 2000 with Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Julia Stiles. It's great; I recommend it (it's on YouTube).

...

**~History~**

Sixteen-year-old Noah and fifteen-year-old Rachel exchanged cell phone numbers before they parted; her dads had given her a cell phone before she left for camp and when she and Noah said 'goodbye', they now had two new ways of keeping in touch; texting and phone calls. Lima and Cleveland were far enough apart that it was long distance on their home phones to call, so they stuck with email, but now with cell phones, they had an easier link to each other.

Noah started his Sophomore year of high school just like he had every year; mohawk, football practice and being hit on by all the girls in school; and now he had a truck and a driver's license.

He was propositioned by several girls and at the first party of the year, he slept with another girl; he wasn't sure if she was a Sophomore or a Junior, but he realized he didn't care; as long as he was protected.

One time in September, turned into two in October and he never dated. He didn't want the attachment, but he never told the girls that; he said he wasn't interested in a relationship yet and they accepted it and told him they'd be around if he ever did get interested, which made the flirtations and propositions come quicker as the news traveled that he wasn't looking for a serious relationship, but liked to have fun in bed.

Noah was honest with Rachel about the girls; he figured he'd rather tell her the truth now than wait until Summer and let the flood gates open up that he was 'sleeping around'. Rachel bit her tongue so she wouldn't berate him too much on the topic of just what could be passed between multiple partners and even more, her heart hurt; she was realizing that she didn't stand a chance with him; she would never allow herself to be used like he was using the girls at school for sex and listed him in the 'friends only' category.

Flirting was reciprocated and he had quickly learned the right way to hit-on a girl, and it seemed to work. At a party in February, ending the basketball season, he was there and Santana had a few too many drinks and coaxed him into a bedroom and they had sex again. She told him how sorry she was for breaking up with him and wanted to try their relationship again. He agreed, but it only lasted a month; he made a big mistake while they were in her bed; he said another girls name... It couldn't have been Katie or Megan or even Allison from just before he and Santana got together; he said Rachel. As soon as he had, he realized his mistake and got out of Santana's room before she could kick him out.

He was pissed at himself royally because he didn't understand why he said her name in the first place. They were friends and had been for so long, but this 'accident' made him wonder if there could be more to it. He tried to push aside the thoughts and feelings, knowing the summer coming up would probably be the last time they'd see each other and he didn't want to ruin their summer over feelings that she probably wouldn't reciprocate.

Santana tried to spread the word that he said someone else's name and she broke it off, but most of the girls continued to flirt with him; telling him they didn't care if he said another girl's name, and he returned the flirtations, but he didn't sleep with anyone else the rest of the year.

...

**~Present Day: Noah~**

**Mid-June 2019**

Noah's little sister, just four years younger than him, had gotten a full ride to Ohio State University for a writing contest she won her Senior year and was able to go to Lima's OSU campus for four years and was graduating with a degree in English.

Even though there was several OSU campuses, every year they brought all the graduates together to do one big commencement ceremony at the OSU stadium in Columbus, so with Noah driving, he, his mom and sister were on their way down to Columbus for the ceremony.

"I can't believe my little girl is graduating from college," Deborah wiped her eyes.

"It was bound to happen," Noah smirked, "mom, stop crying," he muttered.

"Yeah, mom, stop crying, don't you think you cried enough when Noah graduated?" Arin laughed.

"But my last child is graduating, this is just as great," she replied, turning to look at Arin in the back seat.

"_Great,_" Noah thought, glancing at his mom, "_I know what was great._"

...

**~History~**

Seventeen-year-old Noah arrived at camp just like he had done the past few years; he checked into his dorm, unpacked a little and hung around with his mom and sister, along with some of the counselors that were there until Rachel arrived.

Rachel sent him a text when she landed and also when she was almost to the campus, so upon getting that message, Noah went out and reached the drop-off area just as the bus was pulling in. He jogged up to her as he saw her get off and wrapped her up in a tight up, "hey Rachel."

She smiled and returned his hug, "hello Noah," she greeted, "much better greeting than last year," she admitted.

"Sorry about that," he replied taking her large duffel bag from her shoulder and throwing it over his as he slipped his other arm around his sixteen-year-old friend, "what do you say to having a great summer?" He asked.

Walking with him to check-in, Rachel nodded, "I say that sounds like a _great_ idea," she grinned.

...

**~History~**

Their summer was great; they took ballroom dancing together, and then did some hip-hop; he also took tennis with her and they ended up being undefeated during all their matches and won both sessions' tennis tournament and since they had, he kept one trophy and she kept the other.

As with the close of every summer, the night before Rachel was to fly home to Cleveland, she and Noah went out to the lake and sat on 'their' bench, but this time they went out there earlier, taking their dinner with them, and he brought his guitar and after eating, he played a few familiar songs to her and she sang along with his music, neither one of them wanting to discuss the black cloud hanging over their heads; it was his last summer there, but soon the sun set and it was getting close to curfew and they knew they had to talk about it.

"What are we going to do, Noah?" Rachel sighed.

"I don't know. I'll be starting my Junior year and you'll be a Sophomore. If you're serious about helping me get a college education, I'm gonna need help soon, so maybe help me get into a university in New York, you are still going there, right?" He asked.

"I don't know," she replied, "I didn't realize that one year at a few of the larger schools, including room and board, books and class tuition and all of that is close to fifty-thousand dollars for a non-resident in New York," she explained, "so I have looked at OSU. I can go there for about half the cost, I could still study music and theater and then move to New York after I graduate."

"You'd be able to get in anywhere, Rach, no doubt. You'd be able to get a full ride to anywhere you want to go," he told her truthfully.

"Thank you, Noah," she smiled at him, "but I'm more concerned about us than I am about school at the moment."

"Rachel, we have cell phones and email, so we'll still be in touch. Now that I've got my car and all, I can come up there some weekend if you want me to, or I don't know, we'll figure it out."

She knew this was her last chance to be face-to-face to him for a while and she had to know, "will we? Or will we just lose touch in the next few years and that will be it?"

He looked at her, "we will," he said firmly, "I am not letting go of the best friendship I've ever had," he promised her, one of his arms slipping around her shoulders while his other hand took one of hers in his and squeezed it, "I promise."

His words hit her and she teared up and started sobbing.

"Rach?" He looked at her, now against his chest, so he wrapped his other arm around her and held her close, rubbing her back, completely confused, "did I say something wrong?" He asked concerned.

"I... I..." She shook her head and pulled back, wiping her eyes and calming down enough to speak, "I need... you know how we said he needed to be honest with each other?" She asked softly.

"Yes," he nodded.

"I can't hold... I need... I have to tell you something," she whispered, looking out over the lake.

"What is it?"

She bit her lip, "I like you."

"I like you, too," he replied, raising a curious eyebrow at why she was telling him that.

"No, I like you, like you," she murmured, "I've had feelings for you for a while and I... I pushed them aside because..." her jaw shook, but she needed to tell him, "because you've never expressed feelings in return and you've had girlfriends and had sex with others, so I assumed you didn't have feelings for me like that and I... I didn't want to ruin what we had here... I'm sorry," she moved to get up, but he held her firmly in place next to him.

"Don't leave," he whispered staring out in the lake, "I just... give me a minute," he murmured, trying to gather his thoughts. His eyes drifted to look at her and she was looking out at the lake, too, "I think... I think I have feelings for you, too," he said quietly.

Her head whipped around to look at him, "what? You think?"

"I don't do this whole talking about feelings thing, but... I think... Over the past few years, well since we kissed, I... I can't get you off my mind. Wondering where you are, what you're doing, if you'd approve of what I'm doing... I've never felt like I do when I'm around you and I don't know what all of this means, but I think it means I like you, like you, too," he told her honestly.

Her mouth fell open in shock; she really didn't expect him to reciprocate the feelings she had, but as he did, she stared at him in disbelief, and then her tears came back, because now they'd discussed their feelings and they were going to be apart and she didn't think a long distance relationship would work, "oh now what are we going to do?" She sobbed falling against his chest.

"I don't know, Rach, I don't know," he admitted softly, his own thoughts running wild.

"Why did I say something? I should have just kept it to myself! Now I don't know what to do!" She started berating herself for letting down her guard.

"Neither do I," he admitted, "but I'm glad you were honest with me," he told her; "that's all we ever wanted was honesty between each other and we were; we admitted we have feelings between us and now we move on from here by taking baby steps."

"I..." She looked at him, "I'm sorry to say this, but I'm scared of your... extra-curricular activities," she whispered.

He shifted and looked at her, his hands now holding onto hers, "I have had one girlfriend; sure we dated two different times, but all the other girls were just a one-time thing, because I never knew what I wanted, but now I do. Now I finally see it; it's because I was waiting for you," he told her, the things that happened in the past few years now clicking into place. "While I was with Santana, I never cheated on her and I would never cheat on you. I know my reputation gives me a lot of bad marks, but I swear to you, I will _never_ cheat on you," he repeated. "Given my history, you have every right to be scared of that, but I swear to you, I will never push you into anything you don't want to do; I would never use you or expect you to do that unless it's what you wanted, and I will never intentionally hurt you, please trust me on this, Rachel, if we want to give this a shot, you've gotta trust me," he said softly, and then it dawned on him, he didn't know if she wanted to try, "do you want to give us a shot?"

Even in the dim light, she watched him talk to her and his eyes never strayed from her as he promised her he'd remain faithful and wouldn't push her into anything she didn't want, and though she still was worried, the territory now completely unfamiliar, when he asked her if she wanted to give them a shot, she nodded, "yes, I do," she choked out, before lunging at him and wrapping her arms around him as she cried.

He'd dealt with his mom's tears, and his sister's before, but Rachel's were different. He needed to calm her down, so he rubbed her back, trying to soothe her, "hey, I got you... Shh... It's going to be okay... I'm here... We'll figure this out," he murmured, unsure what they were getting into, but he knew all the times he'd thought of her at times when he should have been focused on something else, meant something, and he knew Rachel was worth a shot. He would never hurt her, he knew that much and somehow they would figure out how to make this work.

...

**~Present Day: Rachel~**

**Mid-June 2019**

After digging up that box of camp stuff and finding the picture of her and Noah, she went back later and found the box, taking the picture out and setting it up by the bed. It was taken the morning after they agreed to start dating, just before she was to leave to go back to Cleveland in August of 2009. One night she found herself staring at the photo and all the memories, good and bad of what happened, just after that picture was taken came flooding back to her.

...

**~History~**

After a long and tearful goodbye with Noah, his mom and sister, Rachel boarded her plane back to Cleveland, Ohio. The hour and a half flight gave her time to think about the new stage in their relationship and the situation they were in; she was still scared and she knew he was nervous to be trying something that 'Puck' wouldn't do, but she hoped he would stay true to his word; she was trusting him.

As she got off the flight and went to her baggage claim, her dads were both waiting for her and she was glad to see them; she'd spoken to them a few times over the summer, but hadn't talked to them since her and Noah started their new relationship.

Even though she had been gone for a little over six weeks, she knew something was up with her dads when they shared looks between them; 'silent conversations', "okay, what is going on?" She asked as they finally reached their car.

Alan, her lawyer father, looked at her, "I got a new job," he said calmly.

"You did, that's great, dad! What is it?" She asked hugging him, but she noticed he didn't seem too excited. "Dad?" She then looked at her other dad, "daddy? What's going on?" She demanded.

"Rachel, sweetie, let's have this conversation on the way home," David suggested, motioning to the car.

Rachel looked around and noticed there were people coming and going and was getting the feeling she wasn't going to like what she would be told, she didn't want to have a shouting match with her fathers in the middle of the airport's parking garage, so she silently moved over to the car, pulled the back door open and slid in and shut the door behind her.

Her dads exchanged worried glances and silently got into the front seats, David driving, so as he pulled out of the lot, Alan looked back at Rachel, "Rachel, the job isn't in Cleveland," he started slowly.

"We're moving? Where? When? Why didn't you tell me?" She exclaimed; her voice seemed to get louder faster in the close quarters of the car.

"It's a town north of Dayton. I'll be the head of a law firm there. We didn't want to tell you because we knew it would bring down your summer and we know how important they are," Alan said softly, trying to calm her down.

Rachel took in what he said and he was right; this news would have really upset her at camp and ruined her last few weeks with Noah, "alright fine. When are we leaving?" She asked harshly.

"Well, you see. They want me to start on Monday, August thirty-first, so, um, we've kind of already gotten a house there and are in the process of packing up and moving as we speak," he added.

David knew what was coming, "Rachel, before you get upset---"

Tears were already falling out of her eyes as David said that, "upset? Too late!"

"Rachel, sweetie," David looked back at her as he paused at a stoplight, "we're sorry we're dropping this on you, but your dad got an offer he couldn't refuse and we know the school there starts on the same day, so we didn't want you to miss days in the move, and we couldn't wait until you got back to start moving, so we went down there for a week while you were gone, found a great house you'll really like and started packing."

She wiped her eyes, "what about all my classes? What about school? What little friends I have? Were you even going to let me say goodbye?" She asked.

"Of course we are, sweetie. There is still a lot of packing to do, but we've moved a lot of stuff we don't need right away and while we do have to be out of our house at the end of the month, you still have time to pack and say goodbye to your friends, and there is a dance school I think you'll like and we've already looked up piano lessons," Alan told her.

Rachel shook her head, "I don't want to hear any more," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and turning to look out the window as Cleveland passed by.

The two men remained silent the rest of the drive and once they pulled into the driveway, where an orange and white U-Haul truck sat, she got out of the car, slammed the door and stormed up to the house, unlocking it with her own key and headed to her room; she just wanted to be alone... After a great summer with Noah; who is now her boyfriend, she came home to find her entire life was being uprooted without her even knowing about it and she was so pissed at her dads and she was scared.

Once she was in the safety of her bedroom she locked the door and looked around, glad to see her fathers had not tried to pack up her room yet. She had her carry on over her shoulder still, so she opened it up and dug through it until she found her cell phone and pulled it out, turning it on. She waited a few moments to let it wake up and collect the messages from the network she'd missed; she had a few text messages from friends at camp and one from Noah. "_Miss you already babe, let me know when you get home._"

She choked back a sob as she read the message and hit the send button, praying he'd answer. After two rings she almost hung up until she heard him answer, "hey babe."

"Noah," she sniffled and moved across her room to grab a tissue to wipe her eyes.

"Rachel? What's wrong? Are you crying?" He asked in shock.

"We're moving!" She exclaimed, collapsing on her bed as spoke.

"Wait, what? When?" Still in Pennsylvania, Noah was just as shocked as she was, "how could they? When? What? Where?" The single word questions were all he could focus on as his heart fell; worried that she was moving further away from him that she already was, "babe, talk to me, please."

She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down enough to speak, "apparently dad got a better job offer at a law firm in some down north of Dayton. They didn't want to tell me over the summer because they knew how important they are to me, and they knew it'd ruin my summer, so they chose to do everything behind my back and tell me when I get home. They already bought a house and have started moving. Dad starts his new job on the thirty-first of August, and I think they said school starts the same day, but I don't know, I'm so mad and upset and scared and I don't know what to do!" She whimpered.

He let her talk and listened to what she said, "I'm so sorry you have to deal with this," he told her truthfully, "you want us to make a detour and come visit on our way home from camp?" He asked.

She sniffled and smiled a little at the offer, "no, it's alright. I don't think it'd be a very appropriate time to be meeting my fathers while I'm so mad at them."

"Okay, I mean, I wouldn't mind stopping by; I'm sure mom wouldn't mind either," he added.

"No, thank you, though, Noah. It means a lot that you offered," she smiled weakly.

"So, where did you say you were moving exactly?" He asked.

"I don't know. I didn't ask. They said north of Dayton and I was too infuriated with them at the moment for them to go into any more details about anything," she explained.

"Oh, alright... Damn, babe, I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better, but this sucks," he muttered.

She let a small laugh escape her lips, "I feel better already," she admitted, "you make me laugh."

"Good, I'm glad I can do that," he smiled. "So, flight was okay?" He asked.

"Yes. We just got home about five minutes before I called you. It was a short flight, like it always is," she explained.

"Glad to hear. We're leaving in the morning. Mom figures if we can get out of here by eight we'll be home by six tomorrow night," he said, "then it's back to the grind. Football practice starts up in about a week."

"I'm going to warn you now, I might be email-less for a while; depending on how busy I am. I have to pack and I want to see some of my friends before I leave," she told him.

"No worries, I understand. Text, email or call me when you can. I promise, once you get settled and start school, I'll make it a point to come out to wherever you are," he told her.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

Their conversation lasted a few minutes longer; she knew she couldn't lock herself in her room and she needed to talk to her dads more about this 'move'. When she hung up with Noah, she grabbed a few extra tissues and emerged from her room. She saw her suitcase and bag sitting next to her door and heard her dads talking, so she moved towards their voices and found them in the living room, which was almost bare; a single couch and TV was all that remained of their furniture. "Dad, daddy."

The two men jumped up from where they were sitting and rushed over to her, "Rachel, sweetie," David wrapped his arms around her and then Alan joined them, "we're so sorry to spring this on you just as you get home, but we needed to tell you," David added.

As she let them hug her, she took in their familiar scents, "I know," she said softly as they stepped back, "but that doesn't mean I'm not mad at you," she told them, "because I am very mad and upset that you hid this all from me! I spend six weeks away and I come home to an almost bare house and find out you've uprooted my life without even telling me anything!" She held up her hands to stop them from speaking, so she could continue after she'd calmed down, "I understand why you didn't say anything because you're right; it would have ruined my summer. I also know that it's done and we are moving, so there is nothing I can do to change your minds, so now I have a little less than three weeks to pack up my life, say goodbye to my friends, register at a new school and start over somewhere completely different."

"We actually already registered you at school," Alan admitted, "we got your transcripts sent to your new school once we knew where you'd be going and they registered you. They understood that you were at camp, so once we get moved, you need to go in and discuss the specific classes you'll be taking, but you're a Titan now," he explained.

"A Titan?" She crossed her arms over her chest, still very pissed.

"Their mascot, you know, you were a Knight at Cleveland High, now you're a Titan."

"I don't even know where I'm going to be living," she replied, "so I could care less about the school mascot."

"Oh, right, yes, it's Lima, Ohio. It's about two hours north of Dayton. You'll be attending William McKinley High School," David said leaning against the couch.

"_Why does Lima sound so familiar?_" She thought to herself, drawing a blank at the moment. "I'm not familiar with either, so I guess I'll just have to see when I get there," she told them.

Alan extended his hand to her, a single item in it; a car key with the buttons built into the key, "we bought you car also, um, surprise," he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "a car?"

"And before you ask, no we did not buy it as a bribe, hoping that you'd not be mad at us for moving, but we knew you needed a car, so we figured it was better to get one now than to wait until you needed one to get to and from school," David explained quickly.

"We picked you up in it, but you were obviously too unfocused to realize it was new," Alan added.

Rachel took the key and eyed it for a moment, moving towards the front of the house and peeked out the windows to see her car sitting in the driveway, "I have a car?" She laughed lightly and moved back to her dads and hugged them, "I'm still mad, but thank you," she told them.

The two men accepted it and knew they were not on her good side, but at least she wasn't crying anymore.

She took a few days to get back into life at home; checking email, doing laundry, talking to friends and breaking the news to them that she was moving. She went shopping one day with her two best friends, Dana and Laura, and they spent several hours in the food court of the mall catching up about the summer, and complaining about her having to leave.

Her dads gave her some space to be herself, but she knew she had to get to work on packing, so after a few days of 'freedom' from her dads, she started the tedious task of packing up her life, but once she got focused, it went quickly. While packing, she hardly spoke to anyone; she kept conversations with Noah short; she hated talking about packing or moving, so they focused on him or anything but the reality she was dealing with and after two weeks the entire house was packed up and they were on their way to Lima.

She hadn't sent a real letter to Noah since she was ten years old, so the reality of just where she was moving didn't click and he never said the name of his high school; he just said 'school' or 'high school', so she had no clue how close they would be.

Rachel and Noah knew a lot about each other; who their best friends were, what they liked and disliked, but when it came to where they lived, it was almost a mystery. Given that they were teens or younger when they met, there never was a chance for them to just hop in the car and go for a visit, but now with their licenses, they could do that. If something happened that made her mad or upset, he'd always joke about coming up to Cleveland to beat someone up, but they both knew he was joking, so they never took the offer seriously.

When she finally saw the house for the first time, it was when her and her dads were pulling up in front of it. Alan had driven the U-Haul down while David and Rachel followed in her car. The U-Haul was full of the last things in the house they needed to move; including all of Rachel's stuff and the furniture they didn't want to move until the last minute.

It took them most of Saturday to unload everything and they slept there that night and in the morning; since Rachel refused to return to Cleveland, her dads took the U-Haul back, leaving her at the house so she could start to put her room together and unpack what she needed. She still had a week left to go before school, but knew she had a lot of things to do before then.

One of the first things she did was take a picture of her car in front of the house, sending it to her boyfriend with the words, "_well, we're here. Wherever here is,_" as the caption.

...

**~History~**

Since she had only moved to a new town in Ohio; the schools requirements were mostly the same and the classes were easy to figure, so when Rachel went in first thing Monday morning to talk to them about her schedule, she looked over the courses offered and added choir to her already made up schedule of English, math, science, history and Spanish 2.

While she was also at school they took her picture for her student ID card and the yearbook and gave her a locker with it's combination, so after finishing up with all of the paperwork and new student details, she wandered the halls and took the time to find a few of her classes and stopped at her locker to make sure she could open it. Leaving the school, she saw the football field off to one side and noticed a bunch of guys in sweaty t-shirts running around; some in red jerseys and she realized they were the football team; seeing them made her think of her boyfriend, so she pulled out her phone as she reached her car and sent him a message, "_just leaving my school after all the paperwork and things I had to do and saw the football team practicing; makes me think of you. Wish you were here, Noah._"

...

**~History~**

Another week passed and on top of unpacking her room and getting the house put together, Rachel and David drove around town, getting a glimpse of where they would be living and found it a lot smaller than Cleveland, but it had a comfortable feel to it. They found the shops and places they'd be frequenting and also passed a Jewish temple, "Temple Beth Israel - Shaare Zedek" and they agreed to go in and check it out soon; Rachel and David were Jewish, while Alan was not, but he and David had agreed to rise Rachel Jewish.

When the first day of school rolled around, her stomach was in knots. She'd had a long talk with her boyfriend the night before and then they talked for about twenty minutes before she left for school and in their conversations a lot of her worry had disappeared; he promised her she'd be fine and not to worry, but even with his positive thinking, she still was nervous to be starting school in an unfamiliar town.

School started and she smiled at people who greeted her with a 'hi' or a nod, trying to be nice to everyone and stay positive. She had history first period, then went on to Spanish 2 with Mr. Will Schuester. He mentioned he took over running the 'Glee Club' and needed members, so was inviting his students to join. He said he'd hung a sign-up sheet outside the auditorium, so after class, when she walked past it, she paused, saw the names listed and pulled a pen out of her pink purse and signed her name under 'Tina C' and pressed a gold star to the paper next to her name. Turning around, slipping her pen back into her purse, she looked up, seeing a boy walking towards her with a hideous mohawk haircut, wearing a white and blue striped polo shirt. She stared at him from a distance and thought he looked familiar, "_no, that can't be Noah, he doesn't have a mohawk,_" she thought, noticing the red and white cup in his hand and before she could focus on his face, he threw the contents of the cup at her and by the time he had past, red ice cold slushy was dripping down her face and coating her sweater and hair.

Before she had a chance to react, she was being nudged and she opened her eyes to see two girls, who soon were introduced as Tina and Mercedes, guiding her into the nearest bathroom. They told Rachel about how the jocks stared the slushies the year before, throwing them on the kids on the bottom of the food chain and Tina and Mercedes and been hit with them before, and since Rachel was signing up for Glee, they figured she was just the same. Rachel was able to keep calm and not get overly emotional about the humiliating scene she'd just been a part of and she was severely thankful that Tina and Mercedes were there to help out. Tina had an extra shirt in her locker she let Rachel borrow because her sweater was covered in slushy, and as the girls spoke, Rachel found out Mercedes and a boy named Kurt were in choir, which was her next class, so they dashed off and thankfully made it without being late.

...

**~History~**

Noah had started his year off as he did every year; but this time, it was his his turn to slushy the next geek, and the guys told him to hit the next person to sign up for Glee Club, so he was walking down the hallway with a cherry slushy in his hand and he saw a short brunette with her hair down to the middle of her back, wearing a plaid skirt and a sweater. Just as she turned around, he was within aim, so he threw the cold drink on her and as he did, he got a faint glimpse of her eyes before she was covered in red. He quickly walked away, tossing the cup in the nearest trash can, "_no, it couldn't be,_" he shook the thought from his mind and continued on, praying he didn't just throw that on his girlfriend.

...

**~History~**

Rachel sat with Tina, Mercedes, Kurt and Artie at lunch and found herself feeling more relaxed at being the 'new girl' even after her humiliating morning. As school ended, she went home and her dad, David, was there, "Rachel, sweetie, didn't you wear a sweater to school today?" He asked, noticing she now had on a black t-shirt.

"Yes," she tugged it from her bag, "someone bumped into me today and accidentally spilled their drink on me; a girl I met had an extra t-shirt and let me borrow it," she said, not wanting to explain just why she got hit with said drink.

He looked at her, "well that was nice of her; are you alright?"

She shrugged, "I'm okay," she replied.

"How was school?" He asked.

"It was great, aside from the little drink accident. It's a lot to take in, but I think I made a few friends and I decided to join the Glee Club, it's their Show Choir and my new friends are in it," she explained.

He nodded, "I'm glad to hear that," he said giving her a quick hug, "I was thinking of maybe going to the temple in town today and getting some information on it, would you like to come?" He asked.

"Um, sure. Let me drop my things off and change," she replied heading up to her room to change into a more comfortable shirt and and ran a brush through her hair.

Soon her and David were on their way to the temple in her car and as she parked, the two got out and headed to the front doors and she immediately felt butterflies, nerves and fears build-up in her stomach as they stepped inside. Heading into the main area of the temple, they noticed a man talking with a brunette haired woman who had a teen girl next to her, obviously mother and daughter, and it was easy to see that the girl was board, looking around and finally turned around, "Rachel?" She gasped.

At her name, Rachel stared at the girl, "Arin?" Her eyes widened as she took a few quick steps to her, "what are you doing here?"

"We live here, well not here, but in town; what are you doing here?" She asked as the two hugged.

"We moved here, to Lima... Oh my! Now I know why Lima sounded so familiar! You guys live here," Rachel looked up, "Deborah!"

At the names, Deborah and the Rabbi's conversation had ended and they watched the two girls interact, but as Rachel said her name, Deborah moved over to Rachel, "it's so good to see you, Rachel. We heard about the move, are you doing alright?" She asked as they hugged.

"Um, yes, today was the first day of school; it's a lot to take in. This is my daddy, David," she motioned to her dad, "daddy, this is Deborah and Arin Puckerman, Noah's mom and sister."

"Oh! It's so nice to meet you and to put names to faces. Rachel talks about you all the time, but pictures never do," he admitted shaking Deborah and Arin's hands.

"You as well, so you guys moved here? Noah said you where you were moving, but he didn't say where specifically," she admitted, "oh, I'm so sorry, this is Rabbi Goldman."

The two men shook hands, "nice to meet you, Rabbi. As you just heard we've just moved here, so we were coming to visit," he told him.

"Welcome," he smiled, "nice to meet you as well, David, Rachel."

The Rabbi spoke to them briefly and Deborah told him she'd fill them in on the important information so he could continue on with his day, "Noah is at football practice, but he should be home about five-thirty. Would you guys like to come over for dinner? I'm sure he'd love to see you, Rachel," Deborah told her.

Rachel blushed, "I'd love to see him, too," she admitted, "can we daddy?"

"Of course, I don't see why not. Thank you," David nodded at her.

"Great," Deborah smiled.

They headed out to their respective cars and Rachel followed Deborah to their house, a small two story home. As Rachel pulled her car up along side the curb, she and her dad got out and followed them into the house and soon they were sitting around the kitchen table, while Deborah moved around the kitchen making dinner.

Five-thirty rolled around and Rachel did her best to hide her nervousness. Seeing her boyfriend's mom and sister at Temple was not what she expected, and now she was actually worried about where things would go and what would happen now that they were living in the same town and going to the same school.

Hearing the front door open, Rachel jumped and her eyes darted to the kitchen door, waiting for him to come in.

Noah stepped into the house, confused at the car sitting in front of their house, not expecting company, so he dropped his bag, "mom, Arin, I'm home. Who's here?" His voice carried from the front door all the way into the kitchen, figuring they were in there. Taking off his Letterman's jacket and revealing the white and blue striped polo shirt he'd worn that day to school, he headed into the kitchen, "who's car is out---" He froze mid-sentence as he saw his girlfriend sitting at the kitchen table, "Rachel?" He blinked his eyes in shock, unable to move as he realized she really was sitting there.

Hearing her boyfriend's voice, she smiled happily, but as soon as he walked into the doorway of the kitchen, she saw the boy who had thrown the slushy on her, she paled, her fears surfacing and she couldn't stay in the kitchen any longer. "_I can't do this!_" She thought jumping up from her seat and pushing past him and running out of the house and down the street, needing to get away.

Seeing her severe reaction to his arrival, and then stared at her eyes, he saw the same shock and fear as he had seen hours before when he threw the slushy on the girl singing up for Glee, "_oh fucking shit! This can't be happening!_" He threw a confused look on his face quickly, but he felt sick to his stomach as he was being glared at by the three others in the room. "I... I'll go get her," he said quickly, taking off as fast as he could to follow her outside. Getting out to the sidewalk, he looked up and down the street and saw her storming towards the corner, so he chased after her, "Rachel! Babe, hold up!" He called out to her and as soon as he reached her and tried to put his hand on her shoulder, she whipped around and slapped him hard on the face, enough that the slap echoed for a moment and caused his head to turn with the force. "I deserved that," he said softly, "Rachel, I'm sorry, I didn't know that was you."

The tears came and she shook her head, "you're a... a... liar! What was it at camp? Just a few weeks of fun and you figured I'd never find out the real you? How could you... To anyone... and... to think I had feelings for you!"

"Had?" That one word tore him apart.

"Yes, had! The Noah I know would never do that to me; or to ANYONE! You are nothing like the boy I knew at camp and if this... if this is who you are, I don't want to have anything to do with you!" She exclaimed her fists balling at her sides.

"Rachel, you don't mean that, babe, please," he took a chance and reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't you dare call me that! How could you?" She sobbed. "Who are you?"

"I'm your Noah," he stressed, "I just... the guys on the team... I have a reputation at school and it was my turn to slushy someone; if I would... If I had seen you... If I would have known it was you I wouldn't have, you have to believe me, Rachel, I would never do that to you."

"I don't know anything about you other that the little I learned about you at camp... Is that... Was that all a lie? Seriously? What am I supposed to believe? I'd believe Noah in a heartbeat, but you're not Noah! You're this evil jerk Puck who has taken over Noah's body!"

"What can I do? What can I do to prove to you I'm me? Please, Rachel, give me a chance here. I didn't even know you were living here," he added, "why didn't you tell me?"

At his questions, she gave him at least that answer, "I... I suppose I was trying to focus on getting settled before I invited you... I never thought... I forgot you lived in Lima," she sobbed mad at herself, mad at him, mad at her dads.

He stepped towards her and pulled her against him, even if she resisted and held her close, letting her cry, "let it out," he murmured, "I'm here and I'll do anything I can to prove I'm still your Noah, just please give me the chance," he begged.

She pulled from him and shook her head, "why? We're in two different social circles! I joined the Glee Club and you're a jock; it'd never work out... As soon as your football friends find out what are they going to say? They're not going to like it. From everything I heard today, I know all about the jocks and where we lay on the stupid social ladder! I'm at the bottom and you're on the top!"

He stared at her, realizing she was serious, so he brought it up, "so you want to break up? Is that what you're telling me? You're not even willing to give me a second chance or even a chance to prove I am who I say I am? You're just going on what you heard at school?"

"I want to give you a chance, Noah, but why? No one at school would approve and you know it, so why not save the heartache? I won't be used and I'm not going to be just another notch on your bedpost!" She snapped.

He stared at her, shaking his head, "so that's what you think? Now you're concerned about what people think?" He ran his hand through his mohawk and sighed, "damn it, Rachel, this should be the happiest day of my life! My best friend turned girlfriend moved into my town and we can really be a couple and I can't even be happy because of all this shit! I don't give a damn what anyone thinks, I want to be with you!" He replied, his voice firm, but keeping it low enough so only she could hear him. "Everything I ever told you was the truth, I like you and I want to be with you, so please, let me prove it to you; I'll do anything, Rachel," he told her honestly, desperate to get through to her.

She stared at him for a long moment, taking in his demeanor and saw the fear in his eyes, as he pleaded with her. She didn't want to let him go at all, so she stepped forward silently and slipped her arms around his waist, hugging him.

Shocked at her hug, he immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her against him, "please," he whispered, tightening his hold on her.

She looked up at him, "prove it, Noah, I need to know that you really want to be with me," she whispered. "I don't want to break up, I'm terrified to lose you, but we need to take things slow. I've never had a boyfriend before and now that we live in the same town, we can see each other daily, but I need time."

"I'm never letting you go, Rachel; I'll give you all the time in the world. I'm gonna prove to you I meant everything I have ever told you," he promised her, knowing he would do anything he could to win her heart; he had a huge soft spot for one girl; her, and he wanted to be with her and he would give her as much time as she needed, knowing she was new to everything related to a relationship. "I am so sorry, Rachel, I'm a fuckin' asshole for doing that to you. Just after I did it I saw your eyes and I... I had a good feeling it was you, but I... I'm so sorry," he murmured.

Rachel clung to him, "yes you are," she agreed, "on being sorry and for being a fuckin' asshole," she repeated, looking up at him, her eyes on fire.

"You just---" He closed his mouth and nodded, realizing that was not the moment to be giving her a hard time for cussing. Seeing her relax a little, he needed to ask, "so um, did you... I take it that's your dad with you?"

"My daddy, David," she replied.

"Does he," he motioned between them, "uh, know about us?"

"If you're asking if my fathers know we're dating, then yes. If you're asking about the slushy, I told him it was an accident," she said.

He bit his lip, "I won't do it, but I can't stop the guys from, um, so... Damn it, I feel like a douche for even saying this, but you're probably gonna want to have extra clothes with you," he said softly.

"I already planned to," she admitted sadly.

"_Make her laugh,_" he thought and leaned forward, "next time I slushy you it'll be to lick it off you," he whispered with a smile.

Her eyes widened, "Noah! That's highly inappropriate," she exclaimed, but she couldn't help the faint laugh escape her lips.

He grinned, but instead of saying anything, he kissed her, something he'd wanted to do for weeks since they'd parted at camp. With his arms draped around her shoulders and her arms around his waist, the two continued the kiss for a few moments and as they pulled away, he bit his lip, "can I be happy my girlfriend is here now?" He asked softly. "Or do I not get that privilege yet?"

Rachel blushed, but nodded, "you can."

With one swift movement, he shifted his arms to wrap them around her waist and picked her up, spinning them around as his lips locked with hers.

Her arms quickly wrapped around his neck as they kissed and even after what happened that morning, she felt the sparks that were always there and tears spring to her eyes; she wanted to forgive him and just forget about the slushy, but now that she was living near him, she needed to get to know the rest of him before she fully forgave him.

...

**~History~**

If Rachel had been on stage, he would have given her a standing ovation for how she handled the explanation on why she ran out in such a rush; her dad, his mom and sister were all sold on her just being overly excited, but nervous and scared of everything; school, a new town, new house, her boyfriend living in the same town, when they had been three hours apart and she didn't want to get overly emotional in front of everyone, so she chose to run off and clear her head, knowing he would follow.

Noah sat at his usual spot at the end of the table and Rachel sat near him, her dad on her other side and part of the way through dinner, while her right hand was sitting idle on the table, he rested his left hand on hers and she reacted by turning her hand over and lacing her fingers with his, smiling at him. He returned her smile and looked further down the table to her dad, "Mr. Berry," he said calmly.

David had seen them join hands and looked at Noah, "Noah, you can call me David," he replied.

Noah nodded, "alright, David," he looked at Rachel and then back to David, "I've known your daughter for a just over six years and I apologize that this is the first time we've met, and I'm aware that Alan is not here right now, but she has been my best friend since we met and I would not trade that friendship for anything in this world; she means so much to me and just before she left camp a few weeks ago, we admitted we had feelings for each other that went beyond friendship and agreed to start dating. At the time we didn't know that you'd be moving here and as promised, I was going to come visit within the next few weeks once you got settled and speak to you then, but I don't wait to wait," he admitted, smiling at Rachel, "I'd like permission to date you daughter," he said firmly, yet remained calm, his eyes locked with David's.

David had noticed them join hands and he immediately wanted to let them both stew a moment before he answered, but after the events of the past few weeks and what happened moments ago, he smiled and nodded, "you have my blessing, but I don't speak for Alan, so this is something you're gonna have to ask him, too."

Noah nodded and squeezed Rachel's hand, exhaling the nervous breath he'd been holding, "I will ask him, too," he replied, "thank you."

Rachel sat listening to her boyfriend ask her dad for his permission to date her and she realized he was already starting to prove himself to her, and she squeezed his hand and smiled at him, nodding her head. "_It's a start; our families are one thing, but school is a completely different ball game,_" she thought.

...

**~History~**

Noah didn't have homework; he was glad for that because he wouldn't have had time to do it. After thanking his mom for dinner, Rachel and David said their goodbyes and Noah gave her a long hug, promising to see her at school the next day. He asked her what her locker number was and when she told him, he said he'd meet her there before school.

"_Rachel's here... In Lima... To live! Hell yes!_" Noah thought digging through his bathroom cabinet for something, "_okay, so 'Operation: Prove Yourself' is underway; I asked her dad for permission, and will ask her other dad when I see him this weekend when we go over to their house for dinner. Damn, that was nerve-wracking; I'm gonna be even worse when I ask for her hand in marriage; whoa wait a second, dude, slow, remember? Just chill; one step at a time; win her back first; I can't believe she didn't want to break it off! I was a fuckin' asshole to her today at school, but I didn't know it was her,_" his mind was on overload, but he found what he was looking for, he plugged in the razor and stared at himself in the mirror, "_it's time for Puck to get a reality check; you're really not as much of an asshole as everyone thinks; sure you give people a hard time, but it's time to grow up a little; see ya 'hawk,_" he thought turning on the razor and with expert practice, he shaved his mohawk off completely and evened out his head before staring at himself in the mirror again, a smile tugging at his lips.

He then cleaned up his mess and moved into his room, grabbing a notebook, he wrote a note to her; but not just any kind of note; it was all in Hebrew and he knew she'd know what he wrote her. Folding it up when he was done, he put it with his school stuff and headed to bed, curious as to what the next day would bring.

...

A/N5: Well, what do you think? Reading through this again after I fixed my beta's edits, I have tears in my eyes. Two more parts left, look for them this coming week.

A/N6: I've currently super giddy! I went to the Deadliest Catch Convention 'CatchCon' this past weekend and had a blast! I got to meet a few of the deck hands and all of the captains that were there! SO MUCH FUN! I have a write up of my experience on my LJ.

A/N7: Thank all, so so much for the support on this and my other fics! All of the story alerts, author alerts, and faves are amazing! It means the world to me! Please review if you can, even just a 'loved it' would be great, just to know you enjoyed it! :) Hugs to all!

...


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot and ideas.

A/N1: This is my fic for my winning bidder, (miladybronwyn), at the April 2010 Support Stacie Author Auction... I hope you like, girl!

A/N2: Thank you so much to my beta, Heather! (Bookgurrrl)

A/N3: Fic title came from the lyrics of 'Sweet Caroline' originally done by Neil Diamond, but also sung by the amazing Mark Salling. :D

A/N4: 1 more part after this and it will be complete.

A/N5: Contained within this chapter is my slight twist on the first eight episodes. I won't go into too much detail, since we've probably all seen them, but you'll see snippets with Noah and Rachel that happen during that time and a few conversations will sneak in there (they'll be underlined), so credit for those go to the episodes they were in. There are a some lines the shows that Finn said, but in this fic, Noah will say them, so that changes it up a bit, too.

A/N6: Big show changes: No Dakota Stanley, no 'Acafellas', Rachel won't quit Glee in 'Preggers', April Rhodes won't come in, Quinn is NOT pregnant, there is no Rachel/Finn, no Puck/Quinn

...

**~History~**

Waking up the next morning, he left the house early and stopped to pick up something and as he pulled into the parking lot at school he debated on wearing a ball cap, but chose to go without, so he grabbed his backpack and football gear, along with the stuff he'd picked up and headed into the school, on a mission. He first went to the locker room to drop his football stuff off and then made his way into the rest of the school, knowing he was getting looks from a lot of people, "what are you looking at?" He snapped to one of the Freshmen on the Junior Varsity football team. The kid quickly turned away and Noah smirked, "_yep, still got it! Must be the element of surprise,_" he thought stopping at his locker to get his books for his first class and once he had them headed towards Rachel's locker, finding her digging out books. Smiling, he stepped up to her and leaned into her, "good morning, Rachel," he said softly.

She gasped and jumped at his words; it wasn't what he said, it was how he said it; in Hebrew. She turned around, her eyes widening as she saw him, with no mohawk, "Noah!" She gasped again. "What did you do?"

He smiled, holding up his hand to stop her from speaking before tugging out the note he'd written the night before and handed it to her, along with a single long stemmed yellow rose, "for you," he smiled.

Taking the rose and smelling it, she smiled, "thank you," she set it in her open locker for the moment so she could read the note, seeing everything in Hebrew. As she read the words, a blush crept onto her face, "I don't want you to change because of me, I want you to show me who you really are; I want to know who My Noah is," she replied softly in Hebrew, reaching up to rest a hand against his cheek.

"You know the real me; you're right; Noah was taken over by Puck, and last night Puck got a wake-up call to grow up and while he won't be as mean to people, I'm not giving up my rep that easily," he winked and held up the grocery bag in his hand, "come on, I have breakfast."

Rachel turned to her locker and collected what she wanted and then closed it, linking her arm in his as they walked up to the cafeteria and found a seat at an empty table, turning their chairs lightly so they could face each other. He pulled out two plastic bags; each one containing an apple fritter and then handed her a bottle of grape juice.

She blushed, "you remembered."

"I tried to remember everything about my best friend," he replied, "and now girlfriend," he added reaching over to brush his hand against her cheek. "I'm so sorry about yesterday," he said.

She shook her head, "can we not talk about that?" She asked softly, "that hurt a lot, and as much as I'd love to forgive and forget, I can't, but this is starting to make up for it."

"I'll make it up to you for the rest of my life if I have to," he replied truthfully.

"It won't take that long," she giggled, "but I appreciate that."

What the couple didn't know was across the room, at another table, Mercedes, Kurt, Tina and Artie were sitting, watching them completely confused, "what if the corn syrup from the slushy got into her head and she became attracted to her attacker?" Artie asked, trying to brainstorm ideas as to why the new girl they met yesterday was eating, talking, laughing and practically making out with the jock who threw a slushy on her the day before.

"No, I don't think it's that; just what do we know about her anyway?" Kurt asked curiously, "I mean, honestly, they look like they know each other; maybe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"D-d-didn't she say she was s-s-seeing a boy from c-c-camp?" Tina asked.

They weren't the only ones confused; Finn, Quinn, Finn's girlfriend, Matt, Mike, Brittany and Santana sat at another table watching them, brainstorming why 'Puck' was sitting with the new girl he threw a slushy on the day before.

"Maybe he hit his head and his mohawk fell off and he has amnesia," Mike suggested.

"I don't think it's amnesia," Finn told them, "he was practically making out with her on the street last night."

"Dude, then go find out who this chick is," Matt said, nudging Finn.

Finn sighed, but curiosity got the best of him and just as he stood up and started for them, Mercedes was also walking towards them; both reaching them at the same time.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on here?" Mercedes snapped.

"Yeah, dude, what she said," Finn said pointing to Mercedes.

Rachel and Noah had been so lost in their conversation they didn't noticed anyone walk up until Mercedes spoke and when they saw Finn, too, Noah smirked, "Finn, I'd like you to meet Rachel, Rachel, this is my _other_ best friend, Finn," he said motioning between them.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Finn," Rachel said holding her hand out to him.

Finn's eyes widened, but shook her hand, "you, too, Rachel," he replied, "wow, this is... So summer camp Rachel is here? As in your girlfriend is going to school here?" He asked in shock.

Noah nodded, "yep, I didn't know where she moved until last night," Noah responded.

Rachel turned to Mercedes, "um, hi, Mercedes, yes uh, this is Noah, the boy from summer camp that I was telling you guys about yesterday," she explained.

"Whoa, hold the truck up; mohawk boy threw a slushy on you yesterday; some boyfriend he is," she snapped, glaring at Noah.

Rachel's look soured for a moment, "in his defense, he didn't know it was me. We haven't written letters to each other since I was ten and he was eleven, so I forgot he lived in Lima and I never mentioned where I was moving too, because I really only had three weeks to pack everything up and move, so I was a little stressed out. I bumped into his mom and sister at temple yesterday and it dawned on me why Lima sounded so familiar," she explained.

Mercedes blinked in shock and Finn's mouth fell open, the two staring at them before nodding and moving back to their respective tables to pass on the news. When Santana heard the name 'Rachel' she got up and stormed over to them, "so you're the skank that ruined my man," she snapped at Rachel.

Rachel's eyes widened in shock, "I beg your pardon."

"You fucking bitch!" Noah stood up and glared at her, "don't you fucking call her names and I'm not your _anything_, Santana!"

Santana peered around him to look at Rachel, "what is your slut too shy to fight her own battles? Or does she not know that you said her name when we were in the middle sex?" She retorted harshly.

Rachel stood up calmly and stepped around her boyfriend, resting her hand on his chest, "relax," she murmured in Hebrew before turning to look at Santana, making sure she knew she was 'checking her out'. "Now I completely understand why he said someone else's name; you must be horrible in bed if you can't keep a guy entertained," she laughed, "and for the record, you had your chance, two times, and you broke up with him the first time for another guy and then he called you my name the second time, so I wonder; while he was fucking you, maybe he was really thinking about me? Maybe he was just using you like you used him the first time," Rachel replied, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at a very stunned Santana.

"_Did I just hear that right? Whoa, that's my girl!_" Noah thought glancing at Rachel with a smile on his face, before looking up to see Santana frozen, with a hurt look on her face; as if she was about to cry. He knew Santana and expected her to respond and get the last word in, but he was even more surprised when she took a deep breath, glared at both of them and then stormed off into the school, not even returning to her friends. "Uh, wow, did I just... What was that? I never... Rachel... I..." Noah didn't even know where to start.

Rachel turned around, "I had a feeling," she admitted retaking her seat and finishing off her juice, "when you told me you two had broken up the second time you never said why and when you mentioned you were always thinking of me, I kind of," she blushed, ducking her head, "call it selfish, but I kind of hoped you had done something like that," she admitted.

"I was," he replied softly, sitting down in his seat again and took her hand, "I did say your name, but I didn't want to tell you because at the time, I didn't know what it meant and then when we got together I didn't... I didn't want to tell you and hurt you," he whispered.

She glanced across the room to see the rest of their friends and where Santana had run off to, before looking towards him again, squeezing his hand, "it does a little, to know you slept with her," she admitted, "but by not knowing me at all, she was trying to upset me by saying that and to try and lay claim to you, but it just made me sure that you were telling me the truth about your feelings for me, so as much as it does hurt, I also feel better knowing that before we even agreed to start dating, you were feeling something for me that wasn't just friendship, even if you didn't know exactly what it meant," she finished.

Hearing her explanation, he leaned forward and captured his lips with hers, pulling her against him as they kissed. Their sparks seemed to be stronger and she was wrapping her arms around his neck as they continued, but the bell startled them from their kiss, "damn it," he muttered looking at her sadly.

Rachel pressed a quick kiss to his lips, "it's okay Noah, we've got a lot of time now. Thank you for breakfast."

"You're welcome," he replied, standing up and gathered their garbage and threw it away, before picking up his back and holding his hand out to her, "I'll walk you to class."

She smiled at him, taking his hand and standing up with her bag over her shoulder, "it'd like that."

He nodded, "_it's a start, right?_" He thought.

...

**~Present Day: Noah~**

**Mid-June 2019**

Noah woke in the middle of the night from his dreams; but they were memories from high school of when his summer camp best friend, turned girlfriend showed up at his school as a student. He was shocked and felt horrible for throwing that slushy on her the first day of school, but he truly didn't know it was her until later that night; he was supremely thankful that she was willing to give him a second chance and he knew he'd do anything he could to show her Noah was still in him.

His sister had graduated from college a few days prior and he was still staying at his mom's place. He'd gotten a house just down the street from his mom, but until he had time to pack up his former life, he was staying there; taking the down time to fix up his new place and to make sure things were ready for his move and that would take time, since he'd be spending his second summer as a camp counselor at the summer camp where he met Rachel so many years ago.

Glancing around his old bedroom, he felt his teen self there; the room hardly changed since he'd left it years before and he shifted out of bed and moved towards a shelf where picture frames sat, scanning the familiar faces of friends and family until he landed on one in the corner, his younger self, standing next to Rachel by a tree at camp; just after they'd agreed to start dating, but just before her world was uprooted, but it brought them closer together.

Picking up the picture, he moved back over to his bed and stared at her, her eyes were bright, but were red-rimmed and she wasn't far from crying; it was after all, minutes before she was to board the bus to the airport. Laying back in bed, he set the picture by his bed and got comfortable, thinking about just what had happened after the awkward first few days of her attendance at McKinley.

...

**~History~**

Rachel auditioned for the Glee Club and wowed Mr. Schuester, Tina, Artie, Kurt and Mercedes and the four teens agreed to push aside their feelings towards her choice in a boyfriend and welcomed her to the club and their circle of friends.

Her third day at school, Noah again met her with a yellow rose and a light breakfast, with her favorite juice; grape. Before her third period, she was again slushied, but this time it was by Dave Karofsky, and when Noah heard about it, he really wanted to beat the shit out of Karofsky again; he'd done it in middle school, but being suspended would not help win her over; even if it was in her defense, so during lunch, he went to find her with her friends to make sure she was okay. She appreciated his concern and he ended up eating lunch with them, the two falling quickly back into their routine from camp; even if the people around were different.

When Noah found out that Finn had been offered a lot of extra credit in Spanish to join the Glee Club, Noah kept his mouth shut, but inside he was royally pissed that his best friend would be in the same club as his girlfriend; singing and dancing with her; he silently felt jealous and betrayed because dancing was something he and Rachel had shared; to him it was special.

Keeping out of the 'Glee' drama the first week, since the football team was pissed Finn had joined the club, the weekend arrived and Noah, his mom and sister went to Rachel's house for dinner and he asked Alan permission to date Rachel. He gave his blessing, but asked Noah to come around a few times a week so they could get to know him and Noah agreed to come over; but he knew he'd be over anyway.

Mr. Schuester had the Glee Club director version of a mid-life crisis, when he found out his wife was pregnant and was going to quit, and as much as Noah liked his Spanish teacher, he kind of hoped he would leave so there wouldn't be a Glee Club and Rachel and Finn wouldn't have to be around each other as much; that was his jealousy talking, but Will decided to stay, so Noah once again bottled up his jealous feelings.

Monday afternoon, he thought he'd stop by Glee practice, just to see what it was all about and he watched his girlfriend dance around the stage, singing 'Don't Stop Believin',' with Finn, the jealous feeling he had got worse. He glanced up and saw Quinn, Santana and Sue Sylvester, the Cheerios' coach, staring down from the upper levels and he could tell that Quinn was just as jealous, seeing Finn dancing and singing with someone else.

Noah never told Rachel he saw them in the auditorium, and he tried to forget it; he was trying to get back on her good side; they were spending time at each others' house after school, they'd each lunch together with her new friends and he'd walk her to class; he wanted things to work out between them, but as he tried to win back her forgiveness, he was starting to fear he could lose her if she found someone else to share music and dance with; Finn.

For the first two weeks of school, Rachel kept bringing up Glee Club. Just after Will decided to stay, the Cheerios coach pointed out they needed twelve members to compete and Rachel wanted him to join because she wanted to share that with him; like they did at camp. He never told her he wouldn't join, he just needed time to think on it; he had never performed in front of anyone and that wasn't something he was sure he could do, like she could. Dancing in front of fellow campers was one thing; he only saw them a few weeks out of the year; the kids at school he saw on a daily basis. Rachel understood his concern and while she tried not to bring it up, she did a few times to keep it fresh in his mind, but she agreed she wouldn't push him into joining. She added that she hoped he would; so they could spend more time together.

As the second week came to a close, the Glee Club was performing in front of the students in the gym, as a way to get new members and Noah was sitting with Matt, Mike and the football guys; all of them dressed in their Letterman's jackets, while the Cheerios; including Quinn, Santana and Brittany were not far away. When the club was introduced and they came out, performing a very 'inappropriate' dance to 'Push It', Noah felt his blood boil and he couldn't hold back his jealously any longer; he was going to confront Rachel as soon as he saw her after school and for once be honest and make her be the one to apologize for a change.

After the assembly, he went to his locker to get his things, and noticed Quinn walking towards him; surprisingly she was alone, "Puck! We need to talk," she snapped.

"What the fuck do you want, Quinn? I'm not in the mood," he muttered, opening his locker to dig out his bag.

"You need to tell your girlfriend to stay away from my boyfriend! He's your best friend and I can't believe you're letting her dance around like that; with him! How could you?"

"How could I? Now you're trying to say that was my fault? Fuckin' A, Quinn, she's my girlfriend! She wouldn't cheat on me and Finn wouldn't cheat on you," he retorted, throwing his bag over his shoulder and slamming his locker shut.

"Well, he practically did on that stage!" She replied, "and I'm going to be watching her like a hawk," she added. "I don't trust her!"

"Just how do you think you're going to keep an eye on her?" He asked curiously.

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Santana, Brittany and I are going to audition for the club, and I know we'll get in because they're desperate for members and that way I can keep an eye on her to make sure she keeps her hands off _my man_," she snapped, storming away.

Noah sighed, slinking against the lockers, his mind going crazy with thoughts, worries and fears. "_dude, just talk to Rachel and relax... Figure this shit out, Puckerman!_" He made his way out to the parking lot and threw his bag into his truck, going around to sit on the back; his girlfriend's car right next to him and as he saw her coming towards him, he hopped down, "Rachel, we need to talk," he said simply, but his tone was harsh.

Rachel stared at him in shock, seeing an expression she'd only seen a few times when he was really mad, "Noah, if this is about the performance, it was... It was a mistake," she muttered.

"I sure as hell hope it was," he snapped, "what the hell were you thinking?"

She jumped at his voice and stepped back, actually scared of him at that moment, "Noah, it's not what you think, I assure you," she sighed, taking a deep breath, "Mr. Schuester wanted us to sing some stupid Disco song and I merely suggested we do a song that the school could relate to; we all picked 'Push It' in hopes that it would make us more popular with the students," she explained softly, "we need more members."

"Damn it, Rachel! What the fuck? You guys were practically fucking on stage! Do you know what that made me think while I was sitting there watching my _best friend_ and my _girlfriend_ dancing like _that_?" At her blank look he took a deep breath, "it makes me think that you're trying to get back at me! Are you pissed at me because I didn't join when you first asked? Are you still pissed at me over the slushy? What? I've been working my ass off to prove to you that I want to be with you and then you do that? And on top of that, I've got _his_ girlfriend breathing down my neck to tell you to stay away from her boyfriend and she, Santana and Brittany will be joining so they can keep an eye on you!"

Rachel's eyes widened in shock as she looked at him, trying to juggle what he had just told her, "you're scaring me," she whispered, "and I would never cheat on you, Noah," she added looking up at him and begged herself to remain calm. Of everything he'd just told her, that was what bothered her the most; she saw the jealousy in his eyes as he spoke with a raised voice and she knew he was worried about that, "I'm upset that you haven't joined yet, but I'm giving you a chance to make that choice on your own, Noah. It's a new thing for you, I understand," she blinked her eyes and felt a single tear fall from her eye, "I'm not mad at you at all, sure I'm still hurt that you slushied me, but I... I'm slowly forgetting that happened and I'm seeing Noah in you even when you're acting like a jerk to others; even Finn said you've been nicer to people these past two weeks than you were last year. I know we need more members, but the girls don't have to keep an eye on me; I don't want Finn. I want you, Noah, you know that. I want you to join because while Finn is our strongest male voice at the moment, you are much better than he is and we fit together; you're who I want to be dancing and singing with, not him, you've got to believe that," she finished, staring at him, waiting for any kind of reaction.

Hearing her tell him he was scaring her, he immediately felt bad for raising his voice to her, but he'd bottled up all his jealously for too long and everything just came out. He focused on everything she said and he stepped forward wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her against him, "I do," he whispered, "I do believe that, I just needed to hear you say it," he murmured. "I'm sorry I scared you," he added, relaxing now that he had her in his arms.

She sagged against him, taking a deep breath as she did and exhaled, her right hand moving to rest against his chest over his heart, while her other arm went around his waist, "you're jealous of Finn," she said softly.

He sighed, but nodded, "yeah, I saw you singing with him in the auditorium and it sucked; I didn't want to say anything, but after today, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I actually felt a little betrayed," he admitted.

She looked up at him, "what?"

"When I saw you with him, it felt like... It just sucked. We shared something special at camp and to see you sharing that with him, well, it hurt, a lot."

"I'm so sorry, Noah," she leaned up and kissed him on the lips, "I never wanted you to feel that way. I... I suppose I forgot that you only danced with me at camp. I have always danced with others, so it's normal for me, but I... Now I understand," she admitted.

"Good," he pressed his lips to hers again, "and please don't ever sing that song, again," he muttered.

Rachel blushed, "I assure you that song is forgotten," she promised, the rest of their conversation was coming to mind, "Quinn, Santana and Brittany are joining the club?"

He rested his hands on her hips and lifted her up, setting her on the bed of his pick-up and stepped close to her, his hands resting next to her, "that's what she just told me. She said she and the girls were going to audition and knew they would get in because you guys need more people and she doesn't trust you to stay away from Finn, so she figured with her in the club she could keep an eye on you," he explained. "How many people do you need again?" He asked.

Rachel was silent for a moment, "if they join we'll have six girls and three guys, so we need three more guys; that will give us a total of twelve and that's the smallest number we can have," she explained. "Will you please think faster about joining? I don't want to push you or keep bringing it up all the time, but Noah, I need you," she bit her lip, looking up at him.

"Babe," he sighed, his eyes falling closed for a moment, before opening them to look at her, "I'm not... I can't sing; dance maybe, but I can't sing," he tried to tell her.

She shook her head, "you're wrong. I've heard you, Noah, sure you are missing a few notes, but you could easily get those; our voices fit so well together," she told him.

"But that's when we were at camp; alone. Babe, I'm not like you. I'm not used to dancing and singing in front of people. Sure I can play sports, but this is different. I just..."

"You're worried about your reputation," she said softly.

"Not like you think," he told her, "I don't want to be the center of attention. I like being in the background; just getting by, not front and center."

"Noah, just having you in the club; in the same room, would mean just as much to me as singing with you, you wouldn't have to be lead if you don't want to be, just, please think some more, okay?"

He nodded, "thanks babe."

"Um, are we okay?" She asked softly.

He slipped his arms around her waist and stood between her legs, leaning down to kiss her, "yeah, we're cool," he assured her, "as long as I don't have to keep begging for forgiveness, because I'm running out of ideas and I almost wrote my history notes in Hebrew the other day," he admitted with a laugh.

Rachel blushed, but shook her head, "I forgive you, Noah and I believe we can say we're even now," she whispered. "And I liked your notes in Hebrew, Noah, and the yellow roses were quite pretty."

"They were as close to gold as I could get," he smiled, "and I'm not done spoiling you, I just don't want it to be because I was apologizing for the slushy," he added.

"You wanted to get me gold roses?" She blushed, "no one has ever done something like that for me."

"Babe, I'd get you the moon if I could," he told her truthfully.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, kissing him, holding him and not wanting to let go.

While they were still kissing, he removed his arms from around her waist and tugged his jacket off, being able to without having to break their kiss. Once he had it in his hands, he wrapped it around her back and draped it over her shoulders, and when he did, she pulled away with wide eyes, "Noah?"

He smiled, brushing a hand along her cheek, "would you wear my jacket?" He asked gently.

The meaning of his question filled her eyes with tears, but she replied by slipping her arms into the sleeves, and then wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again, "I'd love to," she murmured against his lips.

...

**~Present Day: Rachel~**

**Mid-June 2019**

Rachel woke with tears in her eyes as her mind replayed the 'jealously' conversation she and Noah had. It was emotional; he had every right to feel the way he did and she was glad he told her the truth. She remembered being hurt that he'd even insinuate she would cheat on him with his best friend, but she was happy once he said he did believe her; he just needed to hear her tell him that; and the tail end of their talk made her feel loved when he asked her to wear his jacket; which she gladly accepted.

Sitting up, she wiped her eyes and looked at the time; it was just after seven in the morning and she had just a few days left before she'd be loading up her SUV and driving two hours to Haverford, Pennsylvania. She could have chosen to fly, but in the time it would take her to get to the airport, check in, wait for her flight, fly, get to Philly, get her bags and take a taxi to the college campus where the camp was; she could have driven there in a quarter of the time, so driving was the better idea.

Looking back at the picture, she smiled, "you shaved your mohawk to bring Noah back, you wrote me many notes in Hebrew, gave me yellow roses every day for almost two weeks because they were as close to gold as you could get, got jealous, we talked about it, you asked me to wear your jacket and finally after four weeks of asking and bringing up joining Glee up, you did," she said to the picture, "took you long enough, Noah," she added.

...

**~History~**

After Rachel assured Noah she had no feelings towards Finn, and they agreed they were both forgiven, they continued to grow. They were still first-and-foremost best friends, but their romantic relationship was growing stronger; he enjoyed the fact they could be talking about something funny and then lean in and kiss each other and go on without it being awkward or uncomfortable.

Noah thought his girlfriend looked great walking around the school in his Letterman's jacket; she didn't wear it all the time; sometimes he still wore it, but he loved to see her in it; knowing it was his jacket she wore and he finally admitted it was something he'd wanted to see for a long time.

He still hadn't given in and joined Glee, but as the third week in September came and Quinn, Santana and Brittany joined the club, Brittany was the first one to try and be friends with the others, while Quinn and Santana kept their distance, making sure Finn stayed near Quinn at all times and if Quinn saw Finn and Rachel looking at each other a way she didn't like, she'd snap at Rachel.

Brittany, Kurt and Tina were at Kurt's house one day and Brittany made the comment that Kurt was on the football team, and while Kurt was no where near being on the team, when Kurt saw how happy his dad was that he was 'on' the team, Kurt went to Finn for help to get on for real. Noah wasn't too happy to have Kurt try out, but when he watched Kurt kick the football through the uprights, he kept quiet; Kurt was their key to winning.

With Kurt's new status as kicker, Finn had an idea and enlisted the help of Mr. Schuester to teach the team how to dance, and as much as the guys tried to fight it, the team was in the choir room, all of them in full pads, dancing; but Noah refused; standing by the drum set, his arms crossed, shaking his head the whole time; he was not going to have any part in it; dancing was not for on the football field; it was for Glee Club and musicals, and with his girlfriend. "_Your girlfriend, dude! You fuckin' need to man up and just join the club, if you don't do it for yourself, at least do it for her,_" he thought.

The football teamed learned the dance to 'Single Ladies' by Beyoncé, which was also the song Kurt danced to when he kicked the football. It took them a week, but by the end of the fourth week in September, the team was on the field with lifted spirits and the stands were full of fans, friends and family watching the game. Noah knew his mom and sister were in the stands, and his girlfriend was with them, wearing _his_ jacket.

The game played on and the other team managed to get one touchdown, but missed the field goal, so with just two seconds left in the game, they were down six and Finn called a time-out.

"Dude, we gotta do it," Finn said.

Noah sighed, glancing at the scoreboard, "fine... Let's do it, captain," he nodded.

The team went for it and as the music played, the eleven team members danced to the song and as Finn got the ball, Noah ran and turned just in time to catch Finn's pass and soon he was running into the end-zone making the team's first touchdown of the season. He threw the ball down and gave a little celebratory dance and saw his girlfriend in the stands jumping up and down and he smiled, jogging over to his teammates and lined up for the field goal attempt. Kurt made it and they won for the first game since Noah had been at McKinley and he was thrilled; and even more so as he headed for the sidelines and his girlfriend ran out to him, jumping into his arms as they hugged and kissed. "Congratulations!" She exclaimed as they pulled from their kiss.

"Thanks babe," he replied kissing her again before setting her down, "I'm glad you're here," he replied.

She nodded, "I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else," she replied with a smile.

With another kiss, he was called away to head back to the locker room, so he promised to see her after he changed, and she returned to his sister and mom.

While in the locker room, after a shower, Noah was getting dressed when he noticed Matt and Mike getting close to him, "Glee club needs three more guys," Mike said.

"And there's only two of us," Matt replied motioning between him and Mike.

"Yeah, I see that," Noah nodded, knowing what they were getting at.

"Finn says Rachel really wants you to join, so what do you say? Why don't the three of us join?" Mike asked.

Noah contemplated his options and he realized they were right; if they joined there would be one spot for a guy left to fill and he was a guy who could take it and he did really want to be a part of Glee, so he nodded, "alright," he finally agreed, "I'll join, but don't say anything to anyone until we show up at Glee practice on Monday; I want to surprise her," he begged.

"Got it," Matt nodded.

...

**~History~**

Rachel, Noah and his family went back to their house to celebrate the big win; he'd been asked to go to a party, but he didn't want to; he wasn't as much of a party person as he had been the year before; it reminded him of what he did before he and Rachel got together and he didn't want her to worry about him maybe slipping into those old ways, though he knew she trusted him, he didn't want to push that trust right away.

As the last Monday of September came around, Noah, Matt and Mike, all wearing their Letterman's jackets, walked up to Finn after school, "Finn," Noah said.

Finn looked up, "hey guys, what's up?" He asked. "I'm kinda running late; Glee is starting."

"We'll go with you," Noah responded.

"What?" Finn looked at them suspiciously.

"We're joining the club," Noah replied.

Matt and Mike nodded, "yes, we want to join," Matt added.

"Wow, guys, this is... surprising," Finn admitted, noticing Will walking down the hall, "hey Mr. Schue!"

"Oh hey Finn, Puck, Matt, Mike," Will nodded at them.

"Mr. Schue, we hear you need three more guys in the club," Noah said. "Matt, Mike and I would like to join."

Will's eyes widened, "really? Are you sure?"

"Matt and I want to join and we know Rachel is dying to get Puck to join, so he's finally agreed," Mike explained.

Will nodded, "yes, Rachel has been hoping you would," he agreed, "so, Puck, are you up for some solos?"

Noah sighed, "give me some time. I know Rachel wants me to be singing lead with her, but I'm just not ready for that; it's taken me a month to agree to join the club in the first place," he responded.

"Fair enough," Will patted him on the shoulder, "well, lets go tell them," he smiled.

The four footballers followed Will to the choir room and Will pulled the door open, stepping inside. Noah, Matt and Mike went in first and Finn closed the door as Will started talking, "hey guys! Let's give a big Glee welcome to our three newest members, fresh off their big win on Friday night; Noah Puckerman, Matt Rutherford and Mike Chang. Regionals here we come," he smiled.

Noah smiled at Rachel and nodded and she rushed over to him, hugging him, "thank you!" She exclaimed in Hebrew, a grin shining bright on her face as she leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

He wrapped his arms around her and smiled as they pulled away, "you're welcome, babe," he replied back in Hebrew, brushing his hand against her cheek.

...

**~History~**

Matt, Mike and Noah quickly picked up the dance routine for 'Don't Stop Believin'' and the club was well on their way. Noah stayed in the 'background', continuing to let Finn take the solos, and when Will gave them two new songs, 'Last Name' and 'Somebody to Love', Rachel got the lead on 'Last Name' and Finn suggested Noah take the male lead in 'Somebody to Love'; it seemed only fitting since he and Rachel were a couple, and while Noah was nervous, he did take the lead and Rachel was excited.

The Invitational came; a chance for all twelve of them to show off their songs, getting ready for Sectionals.

"I can't do this," Noah muttered sitting in the choir room, dressed like a cowboy in jeans, boots and a black shirt, "I don't know how you manage to do this."

"Noah, you'll be great. You won't be singing lead until the second song, so just relax; think of it as a talent show at camp," she murmured.

"We never had a talent show at camp," he responded.

"Okay, then, just a football game," she said moving to sit on his lap, dressed just like him, "you'll be great."

He sighed, "easy for you to say; you've done this before."

Seeing as though her pep talk wasn't working, she went another direction. Reaching for his cowboy hat, she placed it on his head, "you're a sexy cowboy and every girl is going to be drooling over you; show them what they're missing," she winked at him.

His arms slipped around her waist to hold her against him, "you think I'm sexy?" He grinned.

"Yes, I do," she replied, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his lips.

Smiling into the kiss, he gave her a hug, "thanks babe."

...

**~History~**

'Last Name' was a hit and as the kids changed into different shirts for 'Somebody to Love', Rachel slid into her boyfriend's lap as he sat down, "how are you feeling?"

He looked at her, "nervous, but not as bad as earlier," he replied.

Rachel reached up and straightened his tie a little and smiled, "you'll be great and I'll be right there with you," she assured him.

"I know you will be, which is why I feel better," he admitted pressing a kiss to her lips.

On stage for the last song of the night, Rachel and Noah's vocals wowed the crowd and they got a standing ovation for their performance.

The Invitational was the first weekend in October, and they had two months to get ready for Sectionals; they still hadn't picked their songs and when Will told them who they would be competing against for Sectionals, and all of the kids felt they would win, so they got a little laid back in practice, but Will came up with an idea to spark some competition in them; a boys versus girls sing-off. Each group would come up with a mash-up of two songs, choreography and costumes for the mash-up and compete against each other; the winning number would be used for Sectionals.

Noah and Rachel promised to keep their mash-up choices and dances a secret, and while Rachel knew of Noah's talents in dance, none of the other girls knew, so when she tried to get them to practice, they didn't think they needed to; the girls were sure they would win.

Finn had been sick with a stuffy head and cold over the week of the mash-up practice, but he had been taking a decongestant, Sudafed, "pseudoephedrine", a non-drowsy medicine that caused him to be wide awake, alert and bouncy, like he was on a major sugar high. After a brief discussion, Finn gave all the guys some and when they performed their mash-up of 'It's My Life' and Usher's 'Confessions' their audience was stunned at their energy and excellent job.

"I told you guys," Rachel commented standing in the choir room, the morning before they were to perform their mash-up.

Santana rolled her eyes, "we know. You've been berating us for the better part of an hour."

"Look, I was fine with arranging, choreographing and directing this number free of charge, but we underestimated the boys," she replied.

"How were we supposed to know they'd rock the house? They've never been good," Mercedes commented.

"How did they d-d-do it?" Tina asked.

Kurt, listening to them from the doorway, spoke up, "the real question is what were they on?" He said, stepping into the classroom, "though I had been grouped with the boys, my allegiance still remains with you ladies... We all took something."

Rachel's mouth fell open in shock and she exchanged glances with the girls before taking a deep breath and storming out of the room to find her boyfriend. Seeing him walking down the hallway she moved up to him, "Noah, how could you?!" She snapped.

He stopped, "_I knew Kurt wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut,_" he thought, turning around with a smirk on his face, "yes, babe? Is there something I could do for you?" He drawled out.

"You took performance enhancers before you mash-up; Kurt told me!" She snapped, her hands on her hips.

"No we didn't," he shook his head. "They weren't 'performance enhancers', it's just Sudafed," he explained.

"So you're not denying that you took something?"

"No, I knew Kurt wouldn't be able to keep his trap shut, but look; Finn has been sick with a cold all week and was taking Sudafed to help out his stuffy nose. He's been bouncing around like a kid with a major sugar high. We figured it wouldn't hurt to spice up the game a little by trying it out and it worked. The only reason you're so pissed about this is because you know you can't compete with us," he smirked, eyeing her playfully.

Her eyes widened, "oh, I'm offended by that accusation. We haven't preformed yet, but if I may say our mash-up is spectacular!"

"Still isn't gonna be as good. We're gonna win, you're gonna lose. Deal with it," he told her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, "looser has to make dinner for the winner?" He asked with a grin.

She eyed him suspiciously, contemplating his offer, but then nodded, "alright, winner gets dinner cooked by the looser," she agreed, stepping from him and holding out her hand.

He shook it and lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently before letting her hand go, "have fun, see you later babe," he winked at her again before turning and leaving her standing in the hallway.

Rachel watched him walk away, looking at her hand that he'd kissed and blushed, before the reason for their confrontation in the hallway came back to her. She took off back to the choir room to find Kurt and the girls still there, "I think we should take the same thing the boys took," she said.

"What?" Mercedes' eyes widened.

"It is only fair," Quinn commented, surprised she was agreeing with her.

"Fair is good, where do we get it?" Santana asked.

"I still have the box in my locker," Kurt commented, "and enough for all of you."

The girls accepted the medicine and a few hours later, they were wowing Will, Emma and the guys with their mash-up of 'Walking On Sunshine' and 'Halo'. As the girls bounced out of the classroom, Noah knew, without a doubt that the girls had taken the same drug, so as he left, he waited outside the dance room for her. Seeing the door open, he watched Santana, Brittany and Quinn walk out, soon followed by Mercedes and Tina, with Rachel right behind them. "Hey sweetheart, how are you? You guys were awfully bouncy today," Noah grinned moving to stand in front of her..

Rachel looked at him, "we were just leveling out the playing field," she replied.

He eyed her, "do you really believe that?" He asked truthfully.

She tried to stand her ground, but her shoulders fell and she shook her head, "no. I feel terrible. Even if we win, it's not going to be satisfying."

He slipped his arm around her shoulders and guided her down the hallway, "what do you think we should do?"

She took a deep breath and looked up at him, "I think the only way to make things right is to just withdraw from the competition. You know, admit that we were wrong and disqualify our respective teams immediately. No one gets to win."

"You're right, we need to tell Mr. Schue this afternoon," he replied pressing a kiss to her forehead. "So does this mean you won't be cooking me dinner?" He asked.

She blushed, "well, since neither one of us is a winner, we both are kind of losers. We could maybe make dinner together," she suggested, "we've never done that before."

"I like your line of thinking," he agreed pressing a kiss to her forehead.

With all the kids in the choir room, Mr. Schuester was still not there yet, so Rachel stood up and grabbed her boyfriend's hand, tugging him up so they were facing their fellow clubbers, "guys, we messed up in a big way. Noah and I were talking, and we agreed..." She looked at her boyfriend.

Noah sighed and looked at everyone, "we agreed that we should tell Mr. Schue that we took something for the energy boost for the mash-ups. The guys and I did it to give us a step up on the girls, and then the girls followed along to make it fair," he glared at Kurt, who ducked his head, "so no one did it for the right reasons and it's only fair that no one wins," he said.

Rachel nodded, "well said, Noah," she smiled.

"Thanks," he shrugged.

"They're right," Finn spoke up, "I mean, sure I was on them because I was sick, but we used them to our advantage, then the girls made it fair, but we shouldn't have done it," he replied.

The kids nodded in agreement, "who is going to tell Mr. Schuester?" Quinn asked.

"Noah and I will," Rachel said, "I was taking on the leader of the girls and Noah has been kind of the leader for the boys, so ---"

"Yeah, about that," Finn looked at his friend, "can't we just make it official that you're the leader?"

"Uh," Noah looked around and saw the guys nod.

"It only makes sense," Mercedes commented, "Rachel is the most outspoken one of the girls and Puck seems to be for the guys, so, why not?"

Noah looked at Rachel, then back everyone, "I guess I don't mind," he replied.

Before the conversation could continue, Will pulled open the door, "ladies and gentlemen, I have the winners," he said holding up a folded piece of paper.

"Um, Mr. Schuester, before you announce who won or lost, we have something to tell you," Rachel said quickly, turning around to face him, the rest of the club behind her.

"What's up?" He asked looking around.

Noah put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, "we messed up, Mr. Schue," Noah said and at the confused look on Will's face he continued, "Finn has been sick and was taking some meds to help with his cold; the guys and I saw how hyper he'd been so we all took them before we preformed our mash-up. The girls found out and then decided to take the same thing, so it would be a fair fight," he explained, looking at his girlfriend.

Rachel took a deep breath, "but we realized that it was a mistake to try and enhance our performance in unnatural ways, which makes for an unfair competition, so we all agreed that the only fair thing to do would be to disqualify ourselves from the competition so no one wins. We're really sorry, Mr. Schuester," she finished biting her lip nervously.

As Noah spoke, Will crossed his arms over his chest and looked around, getting angrier at them, but when Rachel continued that they realized it was a mistake and were sorry and were agreeing to disqualify them all from the mash-up competition, his anger lightened slightly, "I'm really disappointed in you guys. Glee is supposed to be about what's inside your heart, not what's coursing through your veins."

"We know and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we'd be happy to move forward and put this episode behind us," Rachel said nervously.

Will looked around the room and saw the long faces, and realized they had seen their mistake, and as much as he wanted to berate them more for their choices, he took a deep breath, "the point of this _friendly_ competition was to get you guys to see that you can't just sit back and expect to breeze through Sectionals. Do you really think Vocal Adrenaline is just assuming they are going to win and are waiting until the last minute to work on their numbers? No, they're not. Just because the schools we're competing against at Sectionals might not be good, doesn't mean we'll have it easy; we still have to work hard," he shook his head, "I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said turning on his heel and walking out of the room.

Rachel's shoulders fell and she looked up at her boyfriend, "I don't think that went so well."

He shrugged, "he'll come around. At least he didn't give us all detention," he replied turning around and moving back to his seat to grab his bag as the rest of the club members left the room.

Getting her bag, she walked out of the room with her boyfriend's arm around her shoulders, her arm around his back, "I feel so bad."

"Babe, don't worry about it. It's done and over with. We can't change the past, so we need to move on from here. He might be upset with us for a few days, but he'll cool off," he told her kissing her forehead.

...

**~Present Day: Noah~**

**Mid-June 2019**

The days were getting closer to his long drive to Pennsylvania, but at least this time he'd have company; his mom and sister were going with him. After his sister stopped attending camp when she hit seventeen, his mom went from camp counselor to camp nurse, taking over for the nurse who was retiring, so she continued to go to Pennsylvania every summer, which is how Noah got back into camp as a counselor the year before, and he liked it so much that he wanted to continue and they were happy to have him; it was great to have camp alumni return as counselors.

He had two duffel bags and a backpack sitting on his bed and he was trying to pack up enough of his stuff that he wouldn't need for the next few days, but would need at camp and as he picked up a dirty t-shirt from the floor, his eye caught on on a stack of CDs on the floor by his desk. Moving closer, he bent down and picked them up, seeing a few rock albums he used to listen to that were now on his iPod and then got to the bottom one, "oh wow, that's where it went," he set the rest of the CDs on his desk and flipped over the one in his hand, looking at the back of 'Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits', "I'll never forget this song," he whispered, brushing his fingers over the words 'Sweet Caroline'. "I sang it to Rachel."

...

A/N7: Three parts down, one to go. All will be revealed in the next chapter. Posting this today in honor of the new Glee episode tonight and I hope you all enjoyed it. All the alerts, faves and reviews have been amazing, so THANK YOU! :D

A/N8: The Glee awards is still open for nominations until the 15th of May, so if you like any of my fic (Out of the Blue, Starlight, Became the Summer, Gotta Start Somewhere), head on over to ( http :// community . livejournal . com/ gleeawards/ ) and find out how you can nominate them.

A/N9: It may be a few days before the final chapter is posted; I need to get writing on 'Starlight' and 'Out of the Blue' because they took a backseat for a week or so while I was writing this and now that it's almost done, I'm back to working on them, but I need to focus.

A/N10: Happy Birthday, Lance Bass! Today (May 4th) is his birthday! I've been a fan of *NSYNC for 12+ years.

...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot and ideas.

A/N1: This is my fic for my winning bidder, (miladybronwyn), at the April 2010 Support Stacie Author Auction... I hope you like, girl!

A/N2: Thank you so much to my beta, Heather! (Bookgurrrl)

A/N3: Fic title came from the lyrics of 'Sweet Caroline' originally done by Neil Diamond, but also sung by the amazing Mark Salling. :D

A/N4: This fic is now complete.

A/N5: Here is my twist-up on 1x08 - Mash-up. A bit more detail here and again, if I take lines from the show (they'll be underlined), so credit for those go to that episode.

A/N6: Quinn is NOT pregnant, there is no Rachel/Finn and no Puck/Quinn

...

**~History~**

After the boys versus girls mash-up incident, Will took only a few days to cool off; or his mind got distracted. The news that the school's guidance counselor, Ms. Emma Pillsbury was engaged to the football coach Ken Tanaka, spread like a wild fire in a dry forest. Will had a thing for Emma, but he was married and they were expecting their first child, so he was taken, and Emma only really started dating Ken because Will was unavailable.

By the following week in mid-October, Emma and Ken asked Will to teach them how to dance and to see if he could come up with a mash-up of their choices for a first dance. Ken wanted 'The Thong Song' and Emma wanted 'I Could Have Danced All Night,' which were two completely opposite songs, but Will said he'd see what the kids could come up with.

Before Glee on Thursday, while Quinn and Finn had been walking towards the choir room, some of the guys on the football team threw a slushy on Finn, so when Will approached the club, asking them to try and come up with a song that would go with 'Bust A Move', a song similar in taste to 'The Thong Song', everyone was more worried about why Finn got slushied, and they all knew no one was safe if Finn got hit.

Rachel got slushied at least once a week and Mercedes and Kurt had gotten a few more, too, but since the footballers had joined the club, the slushies seemed to slow down; until Finn got hit; the rest of the team was on the warpath.

Friday morning, Noah stopped at the 7-11 to pick up a soda on the way to school and noticed the 'flavor of the month' for slushies was grape. With a grin, he bought a large one and grabbed a straw and headed out to his truck. He headed to school and downed his soda before he got there and as he walked in, a few of the football guys nodded at him and someone made the comment, "Puck's back." Noah just rolled his eyes and headed for his girlfriend's locker.

Rachel finished putting her things away and closed her locker just as she saw Noah walking towards her with a slushy cut in his hand. By reflex, she clamped her eyes shut and waited for it.

"Gee Rachel, you think that low of me?" Noah asked with a smirk, tugging the straw from behind his ear and tearing the paper away and stuck the straw into the cup, taking a sip of the grape corn syrup before handing it to her, "I bought it for you. It's grape, your favorite."

She blinked her eyes a few times as she took it, staring at the cup for a moment, while her heart began to slow to a normal level, "uh, thank you Noah," she replied, "I, um, I thought that..."

"You thought I was going to throw it on you," he replied with a shrug, leaning forward to press a kiss to her lips, "but if I ever do throw one on you, it'll be so I can clean it off you," he murmured before pulling away.

Her eyes widened, "Noah!" She gasped, a blush covering her face.

He brushed some hair from her eyes, "so, I was wondering if you wanted to work together on some mash-up ideas," he said, "after school."

"Don't you have football practice," she asked, linking her arm with his as they walked down the hallway together.

"There is practice, but I can skip once and a while. Besides, I wanna hang out with my girl and it'll be like old times at camp, come on," he commented.

"Alright, we can go to my house after school, my dads are at work," she explained.

He laughed, "I know. I'll let my mom know I won't be home for dinner," he told her guiding her towards class.

"Okay," she smiled as she sipped on the slushy, "these taste much better when they're not dripping off me," she admitted.

He laughed and turned, kissing her lips and could taste the grape on them, "I agree," he murmured, nipping her lower lip as he kissed her, pulling away after a moment to smile at her. "Enjoy, I'll see you later."

Rachel smiled, "see you, Noah," she waved at him as he walked down the hallway towards his class.

...

**~History~**

Sitting on the end of Rachel's bed with his guitar in his lap, he was strumming along to her singing 'What A Girl Wants' by Christina Aguilera and they'd been coming up with songs for a while, but he needed a break, "babe, could we take a break?" He asked, leaning his guitar against the edge of the bed.

"Okay," she replied, leaning against her dresser.

He kicked his shoes off and crawled up to the top of her bed, relaxing back on the pillows, "wanna make out?" He asked, a grin tugging at his lips.

Rachel crossed the room and crawled up next to him, "sure," she replied, pressing a kiss to his lips.

He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her close to him, their lips locked together in a continuous kiss as they relaxed and took a _break_.

After a few wonderful moments together, Rachel pulled away and sat up, "I can't do this," she murmured, biting her lip nervously.

"Why? We're a couple of good lookin' Jews," he replied reaching for her, "it's natural."

She took a deep breath, "I'm... I'm not ready for this yet, Noah," she shook her head and remained sitting where she was.

"Ready for what? Kissing? I think we've already established that you are," he muttered, sitting up and looking at her.

She took a deep breath, "I can't give myself to someone who isn't brave enough to sing a solo. If you don't have the guts to do that then, then how are you going to be bold enough to deal with the ups and downs of loving an admittedly high-maintenance girl like me?"

"Are you questioning my badassness? Have you seen my guns?" He asked tugging up his sleeve.

"Noah, you're arms are lovely, but I'm serious; I... All you want is to be in the background; I'm not going to sit on the sidelines, I'm going to be the star player and I want you to be there with me, but how can you do that if you're always giving Finn the big solos? Noah, please, I'm asking you to try and sing a solo, I know you can do it and you'll be great," she told him, sliding closer to him to run her hand along his cheek.

He thought for a moment, "I'm not asking you or pushing you to have sex, you know that right?" He asked softly.

She nodded, "yes, I know that, but I'm still scared of thinking about it and I don't know if I'm ready for that and I really think you'd feel more comfortable singing in front of people if you finally sang a solo," she admitted nervously.

He sat up and pulled her against him, holding her in a loving hug, "I'm just as scared to do that as you are to think about sex," he admitted, softly, "but for you, I'll do it."

"Really? Because I don't want to push you into it, either."

"You're not; I've got a song I've been working on with the band, so I think it's time to show you guys," he replied pressing a kiss to her lips.

Rachel grinned, hugging him and returning the kiss, "what song is it?"

"You'll just have to wait until Monday," he murmured against her lips, "but you'll love it."

...

**~History~**

Tanaka was in a pissy mood and gave the football players in Glee an ultimatum about choosing Glee or football and none of the guys were ready to make that choice yet.

Noah was talking with the band, while he was waiting to sing his solo and Rachel, along with the rest of the members, were sitting in seats chatting lightly.

Will finally came into the choir room, "so, any ideas for the mash-up?" No one responded right away, "anybody? Oh come on guys, it's like you're daring me to start dancing!"

The kids laughed and shook their heads, someone saying, "oh no!"

Noah looked at his girlfriend and then took a deep breath, "I've been working on something."

"Oh yeah?" Will replied.

He nodded, "yeah, it's my personal tribute to a musical Jewish icon."

Rachel shifted in her seat curious just what he was going to sing.

"Uh, fantastic," Mr. Schuester waved his hand at Noah, "let's hear it," he said, moving up to an empty seat in the back of the room.

Noah nodded and taking another deep breath, he shifted his guitar and began playing the beginning chords of 'Sweet Caroline' by Neil Diamond. "_Where it began, I can't begin to know when, but that I know it's growing strong. Wasn't the spring, and spring became the summer, who'd believe you'd come along?_" If those words weren't the truth about him and Rachel, he didn't know what were; they met in the summer, he didn't expect her to come along and he wasn't really sure when his feelings changed, but he knew it did at some point. Smiling at her, he continued, "_hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching you... Oh, Sweet Caroline, good times never seem so good. I've been inclined to believe it never would... Oh, Sweet Caroline, good times never seem so good. Oh, I've been inclined to believe it never would, oh, no, no._"

Rachel nodded and smiled brightly at him as the rest of the club clapped for him and cheered him on. She stood up and wrapped her arms around him once he'd set his guitar down. "Neil Diamond," she kissed him, "excellent choice, Noah, and the song was amazing. Did you realize it fits us?" She asked.

He smirked, nodding, "yeah, which is why I picked it. I never thought my feelings would change for you, but they did and hanging out at camp and everything, they were good times and I never wanted them to end," he explained. "I guess you could say you're my Sweet Caroline," he added pressing a kiss to her lips again.

...

**~Present Day: Noah~**

**Monday, June 17, 2019**

"Mom, come on! It's like a ten hour drive," Noah called from where he was downstairs; his bags were already in the SUV and so was his sisters; they were just waiting on his mom to finish up.

Arin, since she was studying English, last year, started working as an English counselor at the camp, offering a creative writing class; she wanted to write and figured the best way to get experience in writing is to not only write herself, but to help others write, so she offered it at camp and it was such a success that they asked her to come back.

"Noah, she did this last year, too," Arin commented.

It was eight in the morning and they wanted to be on the road by then, but his mom was still packing up for the summer; they were going to be gone close to eight weeks and she not only had to pack, but had to make sure that she had all the information to pay bills over the phone or online while they were gone.

Noah rolled his eyes, "she's a worse procrastinator than I am; at least I was finished last night," he laughed.

"I think mom taught us what not to do," Arin admitted with a laugh.

"I heard that, you two," Deborah replied coming downstairs with three bags in her hands, "if I had a decent son he'd help me with my bags," she added with sarcasm, looking at him.

Noah blushed and moved over to her, "sorry mom," he took the two larger bags from her and headed outside, returning a few minutes later, "okay, are you sure you have everything?" He asked.

Deborah nodded, "yes, I'm sure. Will and Emma are being kind enough to come over to get our mail and check on things while we're gone and I have all the paperwork I need," she replied.

"Great, let's get going," Noah said motioning outside.

With one final walk around the house, the three family members were loading up into his mom's SUV, "okay, let's go."

The nice thing about this time was that Noah, Deborah and Arin could all drive, so no single person had to drive the whole way.

"This brings back memories," Arin admitted as she sat in the backseat with her brother in the front passenger seat and Deborah driving.

Deborah glanced at them, "yeah it does," she smiled and pulled the SUV out of the driveway and started their journey.

Noah smiled at his family and settled into the passenger seat, other things on his mind, including grape slushies, football choices and Rachel.

...

**~History~**

After Noah's solo performance, he admittedly was more relaxed at the thought of being in front of people performing, but he knew he'd never pursue it like Rachel was, but now at least he was willing to do it for Glee.

The 'slushy war' as some were calling it, was still in full swing and on Tuesday, Quinn and Finn got hit by them.

It was Thursday, just after lunch and Noah and Rachel were walking arm-in-arm downstairs to the second level of school to their lockers from the cafeteria; she was going on about some guy who won a couple of Tony awards, but he was half listening, "totally interesting," he murmured, glancing at her as they walked. "I know you liked my choice in song, but you never told me what you thought about my mash-up solo," he commented as they stepped off the last step.

She thought about it, "you're still missing the elusive high-B; that's a brass ring for a bari-tenor, but we can work on it," she smiled, pausing in the middle of the hallway to look at him, "you're a great performer, Noah, I just want to say how proud I am to have you on my arm in front of the whole high school."

He smiled at that and as they continued walking, their arms linked together, and out of nowhere, something ice cold was hitting him and he quickly realized he'd been hit with a grape slushy, the thick syrup coating his face and shirt and dripping down. He'd been hit and had a good idea who threw it, but at the moment he stood frozen in the middle of the hallway.

Rachel jumped and gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. She recovered quicker and guided him towards her locker and she tugged out a few small towels and then led him towards the nearest bathroom.

Getting him to take his over shirt off, she set it aside with her coat and got him to sit in a folding chair by the sink and soaked one of her towels with warm water so he could wipe his face while she carefully rinsed his short hair, removing as much corn syrup and ice as she could.

He finished wiping his face and handed her back the towel and she set it aside, closing his eyes for a moment, "you're pretty good at this," he murmured.

"I've had a lot of practice. You're actually a lot luckier than me... Your head is shaved," she explained simply, drying her hands on another towel.

He sighed, "I'm really sorry I ever did this to you," he commented looking up as she sat on his lap.

"I forgave you, remember?" She asked softly, "it's okay."

"No it isn't. No one deserves this feeling," he told her, "you know what the worst part is? It's not the burning in your eyes or the way the slushy drips all the way into your underpants. It's the humiliation. I feel like I could burst into tears at any moment. Rachel, I'm sorry, but today when the clock chimes 3:30---"

"You're choosing football over Glee, which means we probably can't be together anymore," she admitted, fighting the tears in her eyes, as she bit her lip.

He looked up and shook his head, "no, I'm not letting this end us. You're my best friend and my girl; I'm not letting you go," he told her, tightening his arms around her waist.

Rachel sunk against him, the faint smell of grape filling her nose, "but if you choose football we'll never see each other," she sighed.

"We'll figure something out; babe, we got through with emails, texts and phone calls and we made it to living in the same town; we're gonna be together, but until the season is over, we might see less of each other," he whispered.

Sitting up, she pressed a kiss to his forehead, "you said you joined the club for us, and now you might leave the club, which hurts me a lot," she admitted, "please, Noah, think on it."

He nodded and watched her leave the room before opening out his kippa and putting it on his head, needing guidance from someone above.

...

**~History~**

Rachel sadly joined the rest of the club in the choir room, Mercedes, Artie, Tina, Kurt, Quinn, Santana and Brittany all stood watching the clock. Mr. Schuester showed up and also joined them. As the clock's hands hit three-thirty, everyone turned towards the door, hoping to see the guys walking in any moment.

After a few moments past and the hallways were silent, Will sighed sadly, "I guess they're not coming. I'm really sorry, guys."

"I can't believe this, I thought they were our friends," Mercedes snapped, "how can they just abandon us?"

Everyone was wondering the same thing that Mercedes asked out loud and as they continued to look out the door, they all gasped for a moment, seeing Matt and Mike appear, walking towards them. The two boys were welcomed with hugs from some of them and they all continued to wait, hoping two more would walk in.

Rachel bit her lip nervously as she waited, hoping and praying that Noah would decide to pick Glee, but as the seconds ticked by she was beginning to lose hope until she saw a shadow. The shadow turned into a foot, and then her boyfriend was walking into the choir room, one hand in his pocket the other behind his back. She smiled brightly and walked forward to him, meeting him in the middle, "are you sure about this, Noah? Choosing us over the team means you might get a slushy in your face every day."

Noah smirked, glancing up at their friends and then turned back to her, "bring it."

She grinned happily and wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him, his free arm going around her back for a hug.

Clearing his throat he stepped back a moment, "Rachel, remember when I told you I got you the yellow roses because they were as close to gold as I could get?" He asked.

She eyed him curiously, but nodded, "yes."

He smiled and pulled his other arm out from behind his back, and produced a bouquet of golden roses, "read the card," he said with a smile.

Rachel's eyes teared up as she took the beautiful bouquet and picked up the small card with a heart on the front. She opened it up and seeing Hebrew written she focused on the words, reading, "_Rachel, I will love until the last rose dies. Noah,_" she narrowed her eyes in confusion and then felt the flowers, realizing they were artificial flowers and they had originally been white roses that he'd painted with gold paint and sparkles, "oh Noah," she gasped.

"I love you, Rachel, always and forever," he murmured, reaching up to wipe her tears away.

She blinked her eyes and smiled brightly to him, "I love you, too, Noah, always and forever," she replied, slipping her free arm around his waist and leaned against him.

Noah wrapped his arms around her gently and rubbed her back, pressing a kiss to her forehead and cheek before leaning in fully to kiss her lips; they'd just expressed their love forever in front of their friends and he didn't mind one bit; he was with her for good and he didn't care who knew.

...

... and as they say ... "the rest is history" ...

...

**~Present Day: Rachel~**

**Monday, June 17, 2019**

"You're disgusting, you know that? I can't believe you gave up a lead on Broadway, where you're making almost seventy-five-thousand dollars a month; _a month_, for summer camp," Kurt Hummel exclaimed as he helped Rachel gather up her bags.

"It wasn't exactly seventy-five; more like sixty-five once they took taxes out," Rachel commented as she set a bag next to the apartment door.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "okay, fine, but still! Rachel Marie, the star of Broadway's 'Grease' and you gave it up!"

Rachel sighed, "Kurt, you know why I did. I had my time on Broadway, I made it from a nobody to a star; I won my Tony; it's time for me to move on with my life. It's time to go home; camp is part of my home," Rachel admitted. "You know I saved most of my earnings, too, so I could one day give it up and not have to worry; at least not for a while," she added.

Kurt sighed, shaking his head; he'd made a name for himself in the fashion industry as a clothing designer and every fancy dress Rachel ever wore was one of his designs, "just promise me you'll still dress decently."

"I promise I will, and if I ever have a fashion emergency you'll still be the first person I call," she added.

"Good then," he nodded and picked up one of her duffel bags and her suit case and waited for her. "Are you sure you have everything?"

Rachel dashed around the apartment double checking everything before coming back to the front door and picked up her messenger bag and her smaller duffel, "yes I'm sure," she replied opening the door.

Kurt stepped out and she followed him, locking the door with her key and then locking the deadbolt before walking down the hallway towards the elevator, "now you have the keys, right? And you're gonna get the mail and keep things in order while I'm gone, right?"

"Yes, Rachel, I will. I have the keys and I'll get your mail," he promised.

The two rode the elevator down to the garage and walked over to the black SUV and she hit the rear hatch button and it opened. She set her small duffel in the back and Kurt added her two other bags, "thank you so much for the help, Kurt," she smiled, shutting the hatch before giving him a big hug.

"You're welcome. Say 'hi' to all the campers for me," he smirked, pressing a kiss to her cheek before they pulled away and she moved to the driver's door, "and don't pick up any hitch hikers on the way there and don't talk to strangers," he reminded her.

"Yes, dad," she laughed, opening the driver's door and tossed her other bag into the passenger seat. Crawling up into it, she started the engine and rolled the window down, so Kurt moved over to it, "thanks again, Kurt, you're an great friend; even if we did have some issues in high school."

"You're welcome, Rachel. High school is history," he waved at her, "and I try to be for a few people at least," he winked at her, "have fun and be safe," he said.

Rachel nodded and with a final wave, she was on her way to Pennsylvania. Once off of Manhattan, she headed south to Philadelphia, taking the interstate and listened to music lightly as she drove. Just northeast of Philly, she turned off the interstate and took another one across the Delaware River and into Pennsylvania country until she reached the turn onto a road that would bring her to the college campus. Checking her time she saw it was three-forty-five, "wow, made great time," she said and then her eyes widened as a familiar song came on, "great timing, Neil," she laughed, turning up the speakers as Neil Diamond belted out 'Sweet Caroline' and she couldn't help herself singing along. Neil Diamond was, as Noah quoted many years ago, 'a musical Jewish icon', and she was almost a Jewish summer camp.

...

**~Present Day: Noah & Rachel~**

**Monday, June 17, 2019**

"Noah Aaron!" Deborah yelled, "it's one lane going each way, you can't pass someone!"

"Mom, there's no one coming the other way and no cops, chill out," Noah sighed and stepped on the gas and put his signal on, quickly passing the black SUV with New York plates heading in the same direction he was; it was going right at the speed limit.

Once around the SUV he glanced in the review mirror and continued on a few miles per hour over the limit and made it to the college campus, parking in the staff lot where he had the year before, making sure there was a spot next to him free and slid out, closing the door and stretching his arms. Leaning against the side of his mom's SUV, he grinned as the black SUV came to park next to them.

Casually walking around the back of the SUV, he waited until the driver slid out before he walked towards her, smiling brightly, "hey there, Mrs. Puckerman, fancy meeting you here," he drawled, reaching out and pulling his wife against him. "I've missed you so much."

Rachel melted in his embrace, her arms wrapping around her husband's waist, "Noah," she murmured, "I missed you, too, baby, twenty-four hours in Columbus for Arin's graduation, was not enough time to make up for being apart for a month."

He kissed her forehead, "I know, babe, but the house is ready for us to move into and we've got the rest of our lives together," he explained, his lips pressing against hers gently.

At twenty-seven years old, Noah Aaron Puckerman, and his wife of almost seven years, Rachel Marie Puckerman, at twenty-six, have returned to the camp they met at sixteen years ago, but not only are they bringing back sixteen years of memories, a strong friendship and their marriage, they also are bringing their first child; Rachel's three and a half months pregnant.

Noah let one of his hands slide down to her still flat stomach, "how are you doing?" He asked softly.

She smiled, "a lot better now. The morning sickness is gone," she replied.

"I'm so sorry I missed you dealing with that; I should have waited to go back to Ohio," he murmured.

"No, it's alright," she shook her head, "we wanted to do this and we only had a short time to get things taken care of, it's okay, Noah," she assured him, her hand joining his against her stomach.

He nodded, "I love you, Rachel," he said taking her hand in his, lacing their fingers together and lifting their hands to his lips, kissing them softly.

She smiled at him, "I love you, too, Noah."

Deborah and Arin had given them a moment to greet each other, but they were both as excited to see Rachel, so after a few moments, Arin peeked her head around, "clothes are still on, it's safe, mom," Arin laughed.

Rachel blushed, and she and her husband walked to the back of the SUV and the women greeted each other and talked briefly before they started gathering up their belongings from their cars.

It had been a long month apart for Rachel and Noah. When they found out Rachel was pregnant in April, they agreed that it was time to move back home to Lima; her dads still lived there and his mom and sister were there, and they knew they wanted their child to grow up in Ohio, close to family and the friends they'd had that were still there. Knowing they were both going to be counselors over the summer, Noah quit his teaching job in late-April and started making arrangements to go home to Lima to look for a job, which is when his mom mentioned McKinley was hiring a new gym teacher and would need a football and basketball coach, because Ken Tanaka was finally retiring. He applied and went through all the necessary paperwork and that's how he got an interview with Principal Will Schuester, and now, starting the new school year, Noah would be teaching gym, coaching football and after that season, he coach basketball.

Rachel and Noah celebrated their birthdays, only five days apart in early-May and he attended her last show, sitting in the front row and held her in her dressing room after the show as she cried; sad she was leaving, but happy that she had become the Broadway star she always wanted to be and could now move on to the next chapter of her life; motherhood.

Deborah had mentioned there was a nice large house just down the street from her that was for sale, so she spoke to the realtor and after a few phone conversations with Noah and Rachel, when Noah finally got home to Lima, he checked out the house, and they started the paperwork to buy it.

Rachel could have gone to Lima with Noah, but she still had some things to take care of before she could officially walk away from the show, so they agreed it would be better for her to remain in New York and begin to pack up their apartment and start taking care of things there, while he returned to Lima to find a job, get the house, and fix it up, so when camp was over, they could return to New York together, load up their stuff and get back to Lima in a short time, because he only had a little over a week after camp ended before he needed to be back in Lima for football practice which always started before classes began.

At the end of May, after Noah had gotten the job at McKinley, the house became theirs and he started working on fixing up the house, cleaning it and getting it ready to move in, while staying at his mom's house down the street.

With his sister graduating from OSU in Columbus, Rachel didn't want to miss it, so she flew into Columbus the morning of Arin's graduation and her dads picked her up at the hotel and met Noah and Deborah at the ceremony, while Arin was sitting with her fellow classmates. After the ceremony, the six of them went out to dinner to celebrate Arin's accomplishment and then Arin, Deborah, and Rachel's dads headed home to Lima, leaving Noah in Columbus and he and Rachel spent the night together in her hotel room, before he dropped her off at the airport the next morning, promising in about a week they'd see each other again.

The previous summer, Noah had spent in Pennsylvania at camp; something he had wanted to do for a while; and at that time they had an opening for a male camp counselor for the high school students and a basketball coach, so he took it. Rachel was working so she was unable to take time off to go back to camp with him, but as that summer ended, it happened to be the last one the dance instructor would be there for, and while Rachel was going to take the current summer 'off' to go to camp, with the news of her pregnancy, she quit the production, giving her the freedom to take that job, and she was excited to be able to return and spend the summer with her husband at the camp they met at; this was his second summer and it would be her first summer as a counselor, which brought them full circle, because he had been at camp one summer before she started there.

Noah and Rachel were not the only counselors who were married, so they got a private dorm room with double bed, and once they'd checked in, the two headed up to their room and dropped their stuff off, "is our bench still there?" Rachel asked.

He grinned, "I don't know, you wanna go find out?" He asked.

She smiled, "would love to," she replied digging her camera out of her bag.

With their room keys in their pocket, they headed back outside and joined hands, walking down the familiar path towards the lake. The trees had grown up a lot in the last ten years since she'd been there; she chose not to go her final summer because Noah wasn't going to be there. Sure enough, just by the water's edge, with the gravely shore, sat their bench and Rachel grinned brightly, "it's still here!"

He nodded, "yeah it is," he said guiding her towards it and took a seat on it. She followed and he slipped his arm around her shoulders, "the last time we sat here we were confessing that we liked each other more than best friends," he murmured, looking at her.

Rachel blushed as she leaned her head against his shoulder, "a lot has happened since then. You graduated from high school, and started taking classes at Lima's OSU campus. I graduated from McKinley, we got married, in Lima, on the anniversary of the day we first got together right here on this very bench, we moved to Columbus and we started at Columbus' OSU campus; we both graduated the same year from there, then we moved to New York, you got a teaching job and I spent a year working on an off Broadway production, I got Sandy, and now we're pregnant, we're back at camp for the summer and then we're moving home," she smiled, "I couldn't be happier."

He leaned down and kissed her lovingly, "I'm the happiest man I the world," he murmured.

...

**~Present Day: Noah & Rachel~**

**Mid-July 2019**

The first week there the counselors got to know everyone else that would be working and started planning out their weeks. Rachel was going to be a counselor for a group of high school girls and teaching the two dance classes they offered over the weeks she was there, while Noah was coaching basketball and was a counselor for the high school boys.

Rachel was actually surprised that they got a room together; she fully expected to be sharing with her mom or sister, but she was very glad she could share with him; since they were teaching different classes she knew she wouldn't see him as much as she did when they were in camp, but they worked it out.

Once the campers showed up, they fell into a routine that did work out well; they would have meals together, separated by morning and afternoon classes and in their evenings, while the kids had free time the two would take some time for themselves, walking around the campus together.

After being there for a month, the first high school group left after being there for three weeks and Rachel was really starting to show, so by the time the new groups started, everyone could tell she was pregnant.

One night on their walk, they paused at the lake and sat on their bench again, "you know, while I was looking for something I found a box of stuff with camp things in it," she said.

"Really?" Noah looked at her, "like what?"

"Our tennis trophies, the shirt all my friends signed the last summer I was here, the picture of us that your mom took just before we parted the summer after we got together," she said. "It kind of brought back a lot of memories," she blushed, "I've been thinking about everything that had happened those few months after my dads and I moved."

Looking at her, he smirked, pulling her against him and kissing her, "I have been, too. I saw that same picture in my room and then I found a Neil Diamond CD in my room and remembered singing 'Sweet Caroline' to you," he replied.

"Me too, and I know those gold roses you made me are in one of those boxes," she admitted wrapping her arms around him, "I'll never forget those," she added.

He smiled and kissed her again, "always and forever and I meant it."

"I know you did, Noah, and I meant it too, always and forever, no matter what," she replied.

...

**~Present Day: Noah & Rachel~**

**Wednesday, August 7, 2019**

Since camp was still in session on their seventh wedding anniversary, Noah and Rachel agreed once they got home to New York to finish packing and start moving, they would celebrate, but that didn't mean that Noah didn't have something special planned.

After a typical day at camp, they went for their evening walk around campus and stopped at 'their bench', but this time, Rachel didn't know they had an audience of their mom and sister.

"Has it really been ten years?" Rachel asked, feeling as if it was just 'last summer' that they had been there last; the past few weeks at camp making them feel like teens again.

"Yeah it has been," Noah shifted a little to look at her, taking both of of her hands in his, "meeting you sixteen summers ago was the best thing that ever happened to me; for six years we were just best friends and then when we told each other we had feelings beyond friendship right here on this very bench, I knew it would last; I knew no matter what, we'd work things out and we'd be together forever. Your dad getting a job in Lima was unexpected, but it fixed so many concerns we had, because we were finally living in the same town and could be together and even after all the bad stuff that happened, we stayed strong and on this day, seven years ago in front of friends and family in Lima, we promised each other that we would be together always and forever," he squeezed her hands and let go of her right one so he could pull something out of his pocket and then he slid off the bench and knelt down on one knee, still holding her left hand, "you have been my best friend for sixteen years and I have always wanted to do this here," he took a deep breath and smiled, opening up the ring box and showing her the ring inside, "I was thinking next summer, in this very spot we could renew our vows, so Rachel Marie Puckerman, will you marry me again?" He asked softly.

Her free hand flew to her mouth as she gasped in shock, tears spilling from her eyes as she stared at him, knelt down, holding out the most beautiful diamond and emerald ring she'd ever seen, "yes," she choked out, "I will," she nodded, watching him slide the ring onto her finger, meeting the gold band she wore and once it was on, she stared at the ring and stood up as he did, throwing her arms around him and kissing him, "I love you, Noah, so much," she murmured against his lips.

His arms went around her body and held her tight against him, their lips pressed together in an intense kiss and he knew his tears her falling; he never doubted she'd say 'yes', but he always wanted to propose to her there, seeming to bring everything full circle.

As the two pulled from their kiss, staring at each other as their arms still held each other, his mom and sister revealed themselves, both with tears in their eyes. Arin had filmed the whole thing and now wanted to see the ring her brother had been hiding.

While congratulations were passed around, Rachel hugged her mom and sister; they had never been 'in-laws' because Rachel saw both of them as her family; not just her husband's mom and sister. All three women gushed over the ring and he was proud of his choice and was glad they liked it.

Stepping a few feet away, he let them talk plans and baby things, while he calmed his nerves, the question he'd been wondering about for ten years, finally disappeared into the wind, "_what would have happened if I didn't realize I liked her more than a friend ten years ago?_" He glanced over at the three important women in his life and smiled at his wife, who came over and wrapped her arms around him, as they both silently looked out over the lake, "_you know what? I don't want to know,_" he kissed her forehead and one of his hands slid down to rest on her five-month pregnant stomach, "_we're here now and that's all that matters._"

...

... it has been said that history repeats itself ...

The End, or is it?

...

Lyrics used: 'Sweet Caroline' as sung by Mark Salling in Glee. Original done by Neil Diamond; credit to the original writer.

...

A/N7: So last week I posted two chapters within two days and it's been a week since I last updated, but I chose to hold off on the final post, so now, in honor of Glee day, I'm posting it... As I read through this to edit it again, I have tears in my eyes. I am very proud of this and I am so thankful for all of your reviews, comments, and alerts for this story... It means the world to me, and the person I wrote it for, really did love it, so that is awesome! Hugs to all and thank you for sticking with me on this! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. :D

A/N8: I say 'The End, or is it?' because as I write this, I know I want to know more of their future together, so some day, down the road, I might revisit this universe for a short time.

A/N9: Happy 28th Birthday, Cory Monteith! Today, May 11th, is his birthday.

A/N10: The Glee awards is still open for nominations until the 15th of May, so if you like any of my fic (Out of the Blue, Starlight, Became the Summer, Gotta Start Somewhere), head on over to ( http :// community . livejournal . com/ gleeawards/ ) and find out how you can nominate them.

...


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